Nuh farmers seek help as boars wreak destruction
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, February 5
Farmers of around 80 villages in the Aravallis here are a harried lot as wild boars roaming in the mountain foothills enter their fields and trample their crops every night.
According to the villagers, the boars are aggressive and charge at them when they are irrigating their fields at night. Local panchayats of these villages falling in the Tauru, Nagina, Ferozpur Jhirka, Nuh and Punhana blocks have issued a warning to the farmers not to visit their fields at night.
The farmers have approached the local administration and forest officials, with the threat that if the authorities did not act in a timely manner, they would kill the boars to protect their crops and themselves.
“They enter our fields at night, attack the farmers and trample the crop, leading to a huge crop loss daily. We are forced to take turns to stop them, but to no avail,” said Iqbal, a farmer from Kangarka village of Tauru.
Among the worst affected villages are Seelkho, Chilawali, Chharauda, Chila, Sahasola, Bhangwo, etc. The farmers claim that the boars appear at night before vanishing in the dark, and search operations fail to trace them. They said initially, boars would come to the edge of the fields and could be scared away by the din raised by the villagers. However, boars are now fearless and run through the fields, charging at people guarding the fields.
“When we go to the forest officials, they offer no solution and instead, threaten that a case would be lodged in case any animal is harmed. We are losing our crops. If they’re not stopped, the boars will start entering the villages and attack our children,” said farmer Kammruddin.
It may be noted that the population of wild boars in the Aravallis has increased by almost 30 per cent since 2019. Speaking to The Tribune, a senior wildlife official said they were trying to work out a solution. “We are sensitising the farmers about the issue and ensuring that no animal is hurt. We are trying to find a solution and have asked the villagers to put up proper fencing on the sides of the hills,” said the official.
