STF should be asked to solve man-animal conflicts in UP: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday for failing to tackle man-animal conflicts in the state and suggested handing over the matter to the Special Task Force (STF).

"We are seeing road accidents and people losing lives because of stray cattle. We have seen that in areas adjoining forests, people are being killed by leopards and tigers. In Bahraich, people are terrorised due to attacks by jackals and wolves. The government is still not serious," Yadav said, addressing a press conference at the SP headquarters here.

Taking a jibe at the STF of the state police that has come under the spotlight after a recent encounter, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "The STF should be tasked with tackling the problem of stray animals. Or, it should be given the task of solving the problem of jackals." He said instead of killing animals, their natural habitats should be protected. The SP leader claimed that since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come to power in the state, trees are being cut down on a large scale.

"One needs to rise above the bulldozer mindset to solve the problem of stray animals. A nodal officer was asked to solve the problem of stray animals. What action is being taken against that nodal officer? What happened to the huge funds given to manage the problem of stray animals?" Yadav asked.

He demanded that the kin of the children killed in recent attacks by wolves in Bahraich must be given an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh by the government and the injured must be given Rs 1 lakh.

"I will meet the affected families. Our party will provide all possible help to them," Yadav said.

A pack of six wolves had terrorised the residents of several villages in Bahraich district by killing eight people, including seven children, and injuring more than 20 since mid-July. Five wolves have been captured under the "Operation Bhediya" campaign while efforts are on to catch the sixth animal.