Farmers in Bihar’s Jehanabad district say herds of nilgais are repeatedly entering their fields and destroying standing crops, leading to mounting losses throughout the year.
Fencing, scarecrows, and other conventional techniques are used to try to keep the nilgais away, but the animals keep coming back and causing new damage.
The farmers claim that the administration has shown little urgency in addressing the issue and that they feel powerless because the prohibitions on killing or injuring nilgais restrict their options.
However, the district administration maintains that it has not received any formal complaints regarding a nilgai menace in the area. Officials say there are existing provisions under which panchayat heads can coordinate with the forest department to deal with such situations.
For now, farmers in Jehanabad remain hopeful that timely intervention will help curb the problem, even as they stress that any solution must balance the protection of livelihoods with the need to preserve ecological harmony.