Leopards at the receiving end of sugarcane farming in south Gujarat

Top forest officials in Surat, Vyara, Valsad and other regions in south Gujarat have a major concern of late. Sugarcane fields in these areas have turned into a perfect habitat for leopards.

Top forest officials in Surat, Vyara, Valsad and other regions in south Gujarat have a major concern of late. Sugarcane fields in these areas have turned into a perfect habitat for leopards. But at the time of harvest, many leopard cubs are killed due to man-animal conflict. Strangely, however, the state Forest department seems to be oblivious of the seriousness of the situation.

Some officials facing this problem in south Gujarat villages said that although they have been taking initiatives at the local level to create awareness among villagers, there is a need to introduce certain concrete steps as a permanent solution to the problem.

During harvest, the fields are torched to get rid of unwanted shrubs and sugarcane leaves. “It is an age-old system that has turned out to as a major cause of concern for us. The situation is serious because the leopard cubs die in fire while their mothers escape,” said a senior forest official in Surat circle.

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In Valsad and its surroundings, Conservator of Forests, Kaboolchand, has already initiated awareness campaigns to bring down such incident. “Our officers have been going to the areas where such problems have occurred. They have been trying to convince the farmers to make noise before setting the farms afire and let the animals move out to safety,” he said.

The officials, however, feel that in most cases, the farmers and those in the sugar business are not concerned about the animals. “Apart from creating awareness, there is a dire need to lay down some rules for sugar growers. It is not possible for us to convince each one of them with the available staff,” said a forest official at Bardoli.

Meanwhile, the farmers are helpless in front of the bigwigs in the sugar industry. “When it comes to harvesting, we simply handover our farms to those from the sugar industry and they are not at all bothered about the animals. There has been no initiative from the Forest department despite the fact that last year, the charred remains of two leopard cubs had been found in a field in our village. Even the cage that had been placed to capture the mother of the cubs is still lying there and no one has bothered to shift it,” said Manubhai Ahir, a sugarcane farmer from Kelkui village of Vyara Taluka.