BANDIPORA: The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bandipora, Shakeel ul Rehman on Friday convened a meeting of officers at Mini Secretariat, here to discuss various wildlife issues.

The meeting discussed various strategies and efforts to mitigate human animal conflict.

Wildlife warden informed the chair that the department has already identified hotspots in the district, besides two control rooms are also functioning in the district.

Emphasizing on adopting a proactive approach, the DC urged the concerned from the Wildlife department to increase the number of control rooms and ensure minimum response time in cases of human animal conflict.

He also emphasized enhancing awareness and developing early warning systems and response protocols to manage conflict situations.

The DC urged the department of wildlife to engage local communities in awareness campaigns to highlight practical measures individuals can take to reduce conflict risks.

He asked the concerned to ensure availability of equipment including cages, tranquilizers, and protective gears for staff involved.

Discussing augmentation of manpower, the DC directed the officers of Forest Department and Forest Protection Force to provide human resources to the wildlife department.

The meeting also discussed various measures to minimize the damage caused to crops by wild boars in different areas.

Wildlife Warden, Intisar Suhail on the occasion urged public to be careful on sighting wild animals and immediately contact the Wildlife Control Room on,  7889974238 (Gh.Qadir)  I/c Wildlife CR, Chittarnar,  9149666612 (Tanveer Ahmad Lone) I/c Wildlife CR, Bazipora, Ajas, and  9796171787 (Sajid Farooq) Range Officer, Wildlife Ajas.

The meeting was attended by ADC, Umar Shafi Pandit; Wildlife Warden, Intisar Suhail; Dy Conservator of Forest, Waseem Farooq Mir; Dy Director Forest Protection Force, Shafqat Ahmad; DySP, Ahmad Shaafi and other concerned.