Berhampur: In a bid to increase the population and conservation of blackbucks in Ganjam, the district administration has adopted a smart and sustainable method of agriculture in the peripheral areas of Aska Forest Range near Bhetanai village in the district.
The district administration has started cultivation of variety of pulses to feed the endangered animal. The initiative will help blackbucks get enough food in the forest range area and will not venture into the villages or human habitat.
Located around 190 km from Bhubaneswar and 50 km from Berhampur, Bhetanai is famous for blackbucks. It is said that the village has the highest concentration of the animal in India.
Though the locals do not harm the animals, the blackbucks, in search of food, enter into human habitats.
To deal with such a situation, the forest department took upon themselves to safeguard the blackbucks and the crops simultaneously by reserving a large patch of grassland for growing pulses like Green Gram, Bengal Gram and Ragi among others.
The step will give the blackbucks ample spaces for grazing which in turn will effectively solve the issues of farm crop loss.
Sources said that there are approximately 1,600 blackbucks who rule the grasslands located on the foothills of the Eastern Ghats.
The Blackbucks are considered as the second fastest animal on earth after the Cheetah. They are scheduled under endangered species and are protected under the wildlife protection act of 1972.
Prasanna Kumar Sahu, the Ranger of Aska Forest Range said “The public demand was to save the blackbucks and also ensure protection of their crops. We stepped up to their expectations and solved both the issues.”
PNN
