Farmers in Melli Aching village, part of the Yuksom-Tashiding Constituency in Sikkim, are facing significant livestock losses due to increasing wildlife interference. Despite repeated appeals to the wildlife department, villagers report inadequate measures and lack of compensation for their losses. Karzang Lepcha, a resident of Melli Aching, highlighted the issue in a letter to the Sikkim Press Club and the Journalists Union of Sikkim.
Lepcha noted that wild animal attacks, which have become a recurring problem, resulted in the loss of three goats just this August.”We have provided evidence of these attacks, yet the wildlife department has not taken action,” Lepcha wrote. “The absence of compensation only worsens our plight.”
The villagers are now turning to the media to spotlight their plight, hoping that increased attention will prompt the government to offer the necessary support and protection to the affected farmers.
