by Aqib Nazir
Baramulla: Wild Boars are destroying paddy seedlings of farmers in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district leading to huge losses at the beginning of the sowing season in the Valley.
“After sowing sow paddy seeds in the farm, I come back the next day only to see that they have been destroyed by these Wild Boars,” said Fayaz Ahmad Mir, a farmer from Janbazpora area of the district.
It is pertinent to mentions here that the people have been left wondrous by the return of the Wild Boar because they have come back in the district after nearly three decades.
Historically, the Wild Boar was brought in the valley by erstwhile Dogra ruler, Maharaja Gulab Singh, for hunting purposes.
People from the Boniyar area have reportedly complained that Wild Boars have been seen in their agricultural fields where they have destroyed their crops.
“I contacted many departments regarding this matter, from Senior Superintendent of Police Baramulla, Wild Life Department to district administration officials, but to no avail,” said Mohammad Maqbool Lone, the Nambardaar of Janbazpora.
Farmers in the Valley have been already in distress due to continuous rainfall in the past few weeks.
A group of farmers said that they are already late for sowing seeds. “Another disaster is waiting for us.”
Abdul Hamid Mir, an aggrieved farmer said, “They come in the night time and destroy our seedlings. Now we have made arrangements for temporary fencing to stop them.”
Farmers allege the administration is not taking any concrete measures to protect them from these Wild Boars.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Bhupinder Kumar said, “I will look into the matter as soon as possible; we will make sure that we will capture them with the help of the Wild Life department.”
However, Wild Life department officials reveal that it “very difficult” for them to capture Wild Boars during day time as they come from nearby forests only during the night time.
“It is very difficult for us to capture them as they move very fast like monkeys. If the case would have been of a Tiger or a Bear, we could have captured them easily,” said Baba Shaib Regional Wildlife Warden
Contrary to the claims of the Wild Life Department, the farmers allege that officials of the department asked them to kill the Wild Boars on their own as they (Wild Life Department officials) cannot come during night time.
“Wild Life officers are getting paid for nothing. Their wages should be stopped as they don’t help us in such tough times,” said Mohammad Yousuf, a farmer.
