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Patna,(BiharTimes): Several weeks after chief minister Nitish Kumar, it is his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi who on Tuesday said that farmers can kill nilgai, if the animals grazed and damaged their farm produces, after obtaining a permission from the administration. |
Replying to a debate on the forest and environment department Budget in the Bihar Legislative Council he said a farmer could kill a nilgai straying in his field, but only after obtaining permission from either the district magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDOs), who have been declared as the honorary wildlife wardens.
Modi, who holds the portfolio of the environment and forest department, said there was no option but to kill the nilgai destroying farm produces as all efforts, including sterlisation of male nilgai, had failed to give desired result. To allay apprehension among people about killing nilgai, he said the wild animal was not related to cow which was revered by the faithfuls.
Modi said a forest department team would launch a drive to kill nilgai so that people could learn the method and do so on their own in future.
A few weeks back Nitish, while addressing a farmers’ meet in Patna, expressed a similar view. He even recalled his bitter childhood experience with this animal.
Nilgai often causes massive destruction to crop, especially ahrar in riverine belt of UP and Bihar. In Bihar thousands of nilgais can be found in and around rivers Sone, Ganga, Gandak etc.
Their killing or hunting often leads to tension in villages as some people still believe it is a revered animal and worship them. But now both the chief minister and deputy CM have taken a tough stand against the animal.
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