‘Stop safaris if man-animal conflict cannot be curbed,’ Eshwar Khandre tells officials
Bengaluru: Just days after cutting down the number of safaris at Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves due to rising man-animal conflicts, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre recently warned that safaris could be suspended entirely if the situation does not improve.
Speaking at a coordination meeting with forest, revenue, and police officials at the Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat auditorium, the minister stressed that staff shortages cannot be used as an excuse for the rise in man-animal conflicts in districts hosting the reserve forests. “If there aren’t enough personnel to manage conflict-prone areas, then staff deployed for safari duties must be reassigned,” The Indian Express quoted Khandre as saying.
Highlighting the rise in elephant and tiger populations in the state, the minister noted that expanding forest areas was not feasible. He emphasised that ensuring adequate food sources for wildlife within existing habitats should be the priority.
Commenting on a recent tiger mauling in Saragur, Mysuru district, which claimed a man’s life, Khandre criticised the decision to send the body to Mysuru for a post-mortem instead of conducting it locally. He urged officials to handle such cases with sensitivity and efficiency, ensuring families receive the deceased’s body without unnecessary delay.
“No one should lose their life due to human-wildlife conflict. If such a tragedy occurs, the district administration, police, forest, and health departments must act responsibly and remain present until the funeral to maintain order,” he said.
To address the rising incidents of man-animal conflict, an action plan was announced at the meeting. The plan includes identifying conflict-prone areas and documenting the nature of the issues, deploying staff according to conflict severity, including drawing personnel from nearby ranges if necessary, increasing patrolling, equipping vehicles with GPS, and maintaining patrol registers in border villages, the report added.
The initiative also aims to strengthen community involvement. Officials will conduct regular visits to conflict-affected villages and designate youth and elders as ‘Forest Friends’ to assist in patrolling and wildlife operations. Measures include ensuring 24×7 availability of vehicles and staff in villages near wildlife corridors, as well as organising awareness programs and mock drills for villagers, youth, and children on responding to wildlife encounters.
Furthermore, coordination committees will be established at the district and taluk levels to ensure inter-departmental cooperation, with regular meetings to monitor progress and implement corrective measures.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
