Minister’s directive on banning cattle grazing in forest areas of Karnataka attracts criticism

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s directive to Forest Department officials to take steps to ban livestock grazing in all forest areas of the State has attracted criticism from many people in the Malnad region.

The Minister gave this directive in the wake of the death of five tigers at the M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary on June 26.

However, politicians and residents of the Malnad region have taken serious exception to the development.

Former Home Minister and MLA for Tirthahalli representing the BJP, Araga Jnanendra, has urged the Mr. Khandre to withdraw the directive. “It seems that the Forest Minister does not know about cattle rearing. A majority of the villages in the Malnad region are in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is not possible to restrict cattle from entering the forest areas,” he told the media in a press conference on Thursday.

Referring to the death of a woman in an elephant attack in N.R. Pura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, Mr. Jnanendra wanted to know why the Forest Department could not stop wild animals from entering human habitats. “Let the Forest Minister keep all the wild animals within the boundaries of forests. It is not possible to restrict cattle from entering the forest areas,” he stated.

Former Minister and BJP leader Hartal Halappa, in a press conference in Shivamogga on Wednesday said, “We are not opposed to conserving the forest. In the Malnad region, people live amidst forests. Cattle entering the forest areas is quite common here. It is unfortunate that we don’t have a person from the Malnad region as the Forest Minister.”

Not just BJP leaders, many in the Congress party have also opposed the Minister’s directive. Jayanth Bedur, a senior Congress leader from Sagar, expressed his anger over Mr. Khandre’s decision on social media. “The Forest Minister has issued the directive without understanding the actual scenario in the Malnad region. It is a foolish decision. In the region, the villages are located amidst the forests. If not to the forest area, should the cattle go to towns?” he questioned.

G.T. Sathyanarayana, also a Congress leader in Sagar taluk, said that the Forest Minister’s directive was impractical. He should hold a meeting with the people of the region to understand the problems faced by them before issuing such directions.