HYDERABAD: Karimnagar residents found themselves in the middle of something that is as old as time - man-animal conflict. While it isn’t everyday a bear finds itself inside a BSNL office, it is not that uncommon for wild animals to wander into human settlements in the region. Karimnagar has many hillocks with caves in them that provide perfect habitats for sloth bears, an endangered species according to the IUCN Red List. However, many of these habitats have been gradually destroyed due to rampant granite mining, forcing bears to venture outwards, sometimes into human settlements, and mostly for food.
A senior forest officer, speaking to Express, said that this particular bear could have strayed into an urban area after facing disturbance from a granite mine. “It is monoson season and the region received good rains. Sloth bears are omnivorous so there couldn’t have been a shortage of food or water. It is likely that bear strayed in after getting disturbed by a granite mine, and was not in search of food or water,” he said.
Karimnagar might be small but it is home to as many as 1,018 approved mines according to the mines and geology department’s website - the highest number across the State. While sources say that almost all these mines are for granite mining, officials in the department did not divulge the exact number when Express called to enquire. This year alone, the department received applications for 57 granite mining leases. As per statistics by Indian Bureau of Mines, in 2014-15 Telangana was the third highest granite producer in country.