A Karnataka minister claims that Bengaluru's green cover has decreased by 500 hectares

 A Karnataka minister claims that Bengaluru's green cover has decreased by 500 hectares

The total amount of forest space in Bengaluru is around 8,900 hectares, or 18,000 acres; of these, 2,871 acres have been invaded, and 1,051 encroachment incidents have been reported.

The total amount of forest space in Bengaluru is around 8,900 hectares, or 18,000 acres; of these, 2,871 acres have been invaded, and 1,051 encroachment incidents have been reported.

Ishwar Khandre, the minister for the environment and forests of Karnataka, said on Thursday that 2,871 acres of forest area had been encroached into, and that Bengaluru has lost almost 500 hectares of greenery.

In response to a query during Assembly Question Hour, he said that the primary causes of conflict between humans and animals are encroachment on forest area and fast urbanization.

In Bengaluru, about 2,500 acres of priceless forest area have been overrun. 403 acres have been removed out of this total. The Karnataka Forest Act cases 673–64 A are pending in court. 18 cases were given by the High Court A pause exists," Khandre said.

He said, "Bengaluru's green cover has decreased by almost 500 hectares. I am pleading with the Bengaluru MLAs and the other House members to work together to clear encroachments so that animals may enter the city and get influenced by both people and nature." may arrive "Disputes can be lessened." The minister was responding to a query from Bommanahalli MLA Sathish Reddy on the leopard, whose sighting was first recorded on November 1 and caused a fear in several areas of Bengaluru city. Officials from the forest shot him.

Khandre said that a task team tasked with stopping the elephant and leopard issue in Bengaluru has been constituted. Cities are becoming more populated with wild animals. He said that the amount of forest land is declining as a result of widespread urbanization and population growth.

The total amount of forest space in Bengaluru is around 8,900 hectares, or 18,000 acres; of these, 2,871 acres have been invaded, and 1,051 encroachment incidents have been reported.

Peripheral ring roads and other urban development are causing cattle routes to vanish. In addition, he said that the disposal of solid waste, such as meat and bones, outside the city is drawing in wild creatures from the surrounding forest, such as leopards.

"To stop this, the Bruhat Bengaluru Municipal Corporation, the department of woods, and other civic bodies will have collaborate together," the minister said.

According to Satheesh Reddy, forest authorities tried their hardest to capture the leopard on November 1st, but they were forced to get nets from outside sources since they didn't even have a net. Even though the crew traveled from Mysore, it seems that not enough thermal drone cameras or technology were available to record the leopard.

The MLA further said that even the tranquilizer darts that were thrown at the leopard were ineffective. If a city like Bengaluru is forced to deal with this, it seems that neither people nor animals are secure in this place.

In response, the Minister said that efforts had been made to provide the leopard task team with nets, essential safety equipment, and training.

He claimed that veterinarians administer tranquilizer darts, which are widely imported, depending on the weight of the wild animal and other relevant parameters, and that sometimes, despite darting, the medicine does not enter the animal.

He said, "That day, the leopard assaulted four individuals, thus all attempts to apprehend it were futile. It needed to be fired. All protocols were adhered to... therapy was received at Bannerghatta." He passed away en route."

A number of MLAs have made an effort to bring up the threat posed by wild animals in their own areas.

When asked whether the forest department is more concerned with protecting humanity or wildlife, BJP MLA Sunil Kumar asked. Khandre said, "The government is committed to protect human life and wild animals." Additionally, he said that any recommendations made by the MLAs to stop the threat posed by wild animals would be taken into account.