At a review meeting held with the members of State Board for Wildlife recently, the Chief Minister gave his consent to fence the sanctuary to protect the interests of farmers. it is learnt. But, conservationists have cautioned against any kind of fencing as it could have adverse effect on the healthy blackbuck population in the sanctuary.

The Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary is spread over 140 sq km with an earmarked core area of 14 sq km. As per the census report of 2015, there are 6,800 blackbucks here, besides smaller mammals such as the wild boar, the jackal and the hare.

In the last few years, the growing demand for crop compensation is forcing foresters to adopt new methods to reduce the conflict. The department paid `36 lakh as crop compensation in 2015-16. Every year, the compensation amount is increasing as more farmers around the sanctuary are claiming crop losses. More than blackbucks, it’s the wild boars that are worrying the farmers and foresters as the extent of crop damage is larger.

“The Forest Department will help farmers fence their farms. It will bear 50 per cent of the cost and a report has been submitted to the Finance Department in this regard,” said Ashok Kallur, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary.

“We have already begun establishing solar fencing system in some parts of the sanctuary. As Ranebennur has more sunny days than other wildlife areas, the fencing may be effective in controlling crop damage by wild boars,” he said.

Location conservationists point out that the farmers are demanding wrong compensation from the Department. “The Forest Department has helped many villagers get LPG connections. But, still large scale dry wood lifting can be seen in and around the sanctuary,” they said.