A week after tiger attack, Maharashtra Wildlife board approves Rs 260 cr plan to prevent human-wildlife conflict

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This will provide villagers with immediate information regarding animal movements, allowing them to remain vigilant. Additionally, rescue centers will be built for captured wildlife, and ten transit treatment centers will be established for animal medical care.In its bid to prevent human-wildlife conflict, the State Wildlife Board Standing Committee has approved the establishment of control rooms at ten locations in the first phase, the deployment of an AI-based alert system in one thousand villages and the creation of two rescue centers and ten treatment centers across the state.This project valued at approximately Rs 260 crore, aims to curb wildlife attacks on humans, said committee chairman and Forest minister Ganesh Naik.Last week, four women were killed after they were mauled by a tigress and her cubs in Chandrapur district. The incident marks the seventh fatal tiger attack reported from the district this year.As per the action plan, ten control rooms, modeled after police control rooms, will be established in various parts of the state. These control rooms will be equipped with cutting-edge digital systems to track Forest Department resources, vehicles, and patrol units. Minister Naik stated that in the event of a human-wildlife conflict, these control rooms will immediately alert relevant parties to initiate necessary actions.To ensure villagers are informed when wild animals are detected outside forest areas, an AI-based alert system—already implemented on a pilot basis in villages adjacent to forests—will now be expanded to about one thousand villages across the state.This will provide villagers with immediate information regarding animal movements, allowing them to remain vigilant. Additionally, rescue centers will be built for captured wildlife, and ten transit treatment centers will be established for animal medical care.Twenty rapid rescue teams will be formed to assist in the rescue of wild animals. To protect forest-fringe villages, two thousand primary response teams will be created to support the Forest Department.Story continues below this adTwo mobile squads will also be formed to capture animals such as deer, monkeys, and wild boars that cause damage to agricultural crops. These teams will visit areas affected by such animals to capture and relocate them back into forest areas, and they will be equipped with state-of-the-art tools. Additionally, it is proposed that two sterilization centers be established in the state to control the population of monkeys and wild boars. Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Mumbai