Multi-pronged Approach Needed to Manage Man-Animal Conflict

The reasons for man-elephant conflict are many, including the presence of weeds and shrinking forest boundaries.

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The list could include highly palatable food crops grown on forest fringes, which are like rasgullas for elephants, while the fodder inside is like ragi mudde, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Head of Forest Force (HOFF), Meenakshi Negi. In an interaction with The New Indian Express, she spoke about her journey and challenges ahead as the head of the state forest force.

Tell us about your journey. You are the second woman in India to be the HOFF, after Maharashtra, and the first ever in Karnataka.

I am from Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. After getting selected to the Karnataka cadre, I joined the state in December 1992. I worked in Karnataka till August 2007. Till 2015, I was posted to the Ministry of Ayush with the Government of India. From 2015-23, I was posted in various departments in the Karnataka forest department, and from 2023 till recently I was posted in Delhi before I came back, when I was selected as HOFF in Karnataka.

Was gender a concern when you joined the forest service?

Entry of women into the Indian Forest Service started in 1980s. I am from the 1989 batch. Prior to me were two women officers. I was the third or fourth woman officer to join the state. Sometimes situations were comical back then. We joined as young girls and the established forest bureaucracy did not know how to treat us, or where to post us. Whether we will be able to go on night patrol, climb mountains, go into forests and face wildlife. There was a lot of hesitation and uncertainty among them. Slowly people accepted us and we made a place for ourselves. They understood that when women get into a job they bring their own, yet different, perspective. Today we are getting more women in the force.

What attracted you to the Forest department?