KOPPAL: A row erupted over the autopsy report on blackbuck deaths here in October last year.
At least 20 blackbucks were found dead over a week in agriculture fields of Alwandi and Betagaeri villages in Koppal taluk last year.
However, forest department officials put the number of deaths at just five. Subsequently, samples of the carcasses were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Police Department in Kalaburagi for autopsy.
According to the autopsy report, while the cause of death of blackbucks is attributed to lightning in some cases, the same in other cases is attributed to presence of chemical substance chlorpyriphos, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Yashpal Ksheerasagar told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
He maintained that accountability cannot be fixed on the basis of the report as chlopyriphos is the most common chemical substance found in almost all the insecticides. Deputy Commissioner P Sunilkumar is expected to chair a meeting of officials of forest and agriculture departments in this direction, the DCF added.
Villagers here were often bothered by blackbucks infiltrating into human habitations and destroying agriculture crops in Alwandi, Betageri villages of Koppal taluk and Bhanapur and Bannikoppa villages of Yelburga taluk in the district.According to the department, there are 1,375 blackbucks in 17 villages of Koppal taluk and 3,555 in 24 villages of Yelburga taluk.
According to residents of Alwandi and Betageri villages, one or two blackbucks were hunted occasionally all these years, which went unnoticed. However, they were shocked to see a herd of blackbucks found dead in Alwandi village.Following chronic and scanty monsoon in the district, the herd of blackbucks could have ventured into Alwandi agricultural fields in search of water, they said.