Fruit trees in Rishikesh to keep wild animals confined to forest

Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 23

In a major initiative towards easing the man-animal conflicts in the Rishikesh region, the state Forest Department has decided to plant large-scale fruit trees in the forest areas that are close to villages in and around Rishikesh. The department earlier used to plant bamboo trees.

Over 250 hectares in the Rishikesh region will be taken up for the plantation of fruit saplings. Divisional Forest Officer, Narendranagar Forest Division, Rahul, said the planting of fruit trees had been taken up to ensure animals did not enter human habitations and were restricted to forests.

Interestingly, there has been growing concern over the increasing attack of wildlife on human habitations, particularly in Rishikesh areas. This has often led to causalities on both sides. The man-animal conflict in Rishikesh has increased to such an extent that the traffic movement had to be stopped on the Dehradun-Rishikesh road to minimise human deaths.

The Rishikesh and adjoining region, despite monkey menace, face the challenge of elephants, which frequently raid crops and even attack local villagers resulting into human deaths.

Nearly a lakh fruit tree sapling, including mango, guava and other fruit species, will be planted prominently. Dhalawala, Muni-ki-Reti, Gohrimafi, Prateetnagar, Bapugram, Shyampur and Khandgaon areas in and around Rishikesh are worst-affected with wildlife invasions.

Few years afo, the state forest authorities had come up with a ringal project in the parts of Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve, which fall in the higher reaches of the state. Ringal, a bamboo is mostly feed by endangered musk deer, monal, rhesus macaque monkey and even few birds such as satyr, tragopan, koklas and serow.

There have been instances in the past when the forest authorities have taken to the plantation of bamboos in the Kumaon division to restrict movement of elephant to forests and prevent them from raiding human settlements leading to favourable results.

Dr AK Singh, an expert in elephant studies, said lack of food in forests was forcing monkeys and elephants to raid human habitations.

He said planting of fruit trees could certainly help fulfilling food needs of monkeys and elephants within confines of forest. He supported such plantation of fruit trees in the forest areas of the state in a big way.