Misuse of licensed guns in Bangus valley
Mohammad Tahir
KUPWARA: The department of Wild Life and protection has failed to preserve the lives of endangered and other species as the tribal people misuses the licensed bore guns either for fun or business and government has failed to make them accountable for their activities.
According to sources, the department of wild life protection hardly bothers about wildlife species as the tribal people were seen misusing their licensed guns in and around the Tourist destination Bangus valley in Handwara area of north Kashmir,s Kupwara district.
Every year dozens of endangered wild animals gets killed by poachers in the forest areas of Kashmir valley especially Bangus valley and there is no authority that could make these tribal’s answerable, said sources.
Sources said that extinction of endangered animals is a matter of worrisome, people living in border areas have chopped off many lush green trees and interestingly the wild animals have started to come down in the rural areas.
“Now as for as the endangered animals are concerned they get killed by some people for their personal interests, as their feather goes costly at the national and local markets,” sources informed.
Sources said the local tourists have witnessed that many tribal people roams freely in the Bangus valley with licensed bore guns, and earlier they had killed the beautiful animals like Markhoor, Musk Deer (Kastoori goat) Black bear and other animals.
“Question should be asked that who allows these people to kill the animals, no doubt these people have a license but they don’t have a license to kill speechless animals, the guns may have been allotted for their own safety, and the concerned department should be held responsible for it,” sources asked.
They said that government should enquire the matter that why endangered animals like Markhor gets killed by the licensed people.
Qazinag wildlife centaury which is located in Boniyar Uri to Tutmaar Gali (TMG) in Nowgam sector in Handwara connects with Shamsbari mountain ranges up to Sadhna top was considered as safe home for these wild animals, but unfortunately number of these animals gets decreased.
Markhor goat was placed on the species list in 1994 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as its population size was estimated at less than 2,500 and Kashmir will see extinction of these animals in near future, sources said.
These animals are hunted by humans for meat and its habitat reduces as human population increases, and there is a human interference especially by the tribal people that are living close to the borders or near dense woods.
“Need of the hour is to preserve the endangered animals with framing some tough laws only then ecological balance will be maintained in Kashmir, otherwise we will lose another natural gifts from this earth,” Sources added.