Minister asks Wildlife authorities to revive Markhor habitat

Shopian, Oct 30: Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology & Environment and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana, today asked the wildlife authorities to assess the impact of human activities and livestock grazing by non-traditional migratory herders on Markhor and its habitat.

While travelling through Mughal road, the Minister visited the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary in Shopian and directed the officers of wildlife protection to aggressively undertake all possible measures for soil conservation, afforestation and other appropriate measures against wildlife crime to conserve and protect the fragile ecosystem inhabited by Markhor.

He instructed for 24x7 patrols to combat poaching and illegal hunting besides conducting regular wildlife population monitoring.