M A I N   N E W S

Farmers, wildlife staff lock horns
Tribune News Service

HARIKE (Ferozepore), Nov 7 — A fresh move of the wildlife staff to prevent encroachments inside the Harike bird sanctuary here has evoked protests from a section of local farmers, who have been tilling the land inside the restricted area for years together.

While officials justify the move, accusing the farmers of encroaching upon the wetlands, the latter say they have been tilling the area since the late 80s and should not be denied the entry.

Fresh trouble arose after the officials challaned two farmers of the Kirtowal and Wadda Sabra areas and pitched pillars to demarcate the boundary of the sanctuary to prevent further encroachments. Even as the authorities are challaning more people and have intensified the vigil, farmers of Kirian village are accusing the government of high-handedness.

Their contention is that it was the government that earlier encouraged them to bring the marshy land inside the sanctuary under cultivation to check the movement of terrorists. The area that was frequently used by the extremists for its strategic topography was brought under cultivation with the help of security forces during the late 80s.

However, the authorities are now preventing them from entering the sanctuary without taking into consideration their grievances. Four members of Kirian panchayat — Gurmej Singh, Lal Singh, Puran Singh and Balkar Singh — told TNS that the Central Reserve Police Force had helped them to clear the area of elephant grass and bring it under cultivation as part of the anti-terrorist strategy. “Now they want us to desert the land we have been tilling for years,” Lal Singh lamented.

“They should provide us with an alternative as a number of families rely on this land for living, Balkar Singh said. The Divisional Forest Officer, Mr Jagdeep Singh, at Harike Wildlife Centre, while admitting that these farmers were encouraged to clear the area of wild growth for strategic reasons, said they were not the owners of the land that largely belonged to the state government. “After the notification of the sanctuary limits through various mediums, they cannot be allowed entry without permission,” he said.

“They were given sufficient time to plead their cases before the demarcation of the periphery of the sanctuary, but nobody from among the agitating farmers approached us,” the Wildlife Inspector, Mr Rupinder Singh, claimed.

According to wildlife sources, about 1,000 acres of the sanctuary are under encroachment of 325 tillers. Only a handful of farmers enjoy the ownership, but they cannot be allowed to enter the area without the permission of the wildlife staff.