JAMMU: Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Javed Ahmad Rana, today informed that the Department of Wildlife Protection has taken several measures to effectively and promptly mitigate human–wild boar conflict in and around Dachigam National Park, including New Theed village.
The Minister was replying to a Calling Attention Motion moved by Salman Ali Sagar on behalf of Ali Mohammad Sagar in the Legislative Assembly.
The Minister stated that, as part of mitigation efforts, a cement concrete toe wall has been constructed along the existing chain-link fencing over an approximate length of 3 kilometre to prevent wild boars from burrowing beneath the fence. He added that regular anti-plastic and sanitation drives are being conducted within and around Dachigam National Park to remove waste that may attract wild boars.
He further informed that the Dachigam Control Room is functioning round the clock to respond to incidents of wild boar sightings outside the park.
The Minister said that due to effective management of the human–wild boar conflict, no human injuries have been reported so far in and around Dachigam National Park, including New Theed village.
He added that regular advisories and awareness programmes are being conducted in fringe villages, particularly for the farming communities. In addition, regular patrolling is being carried out and equipment such as noise guns and firecrackers are used, whenever required, to deter wild boars from entering affected villages.
The reply further stated that the wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an alien invasive species in the Kashmir habitat in general and Dachigam National Park in particular and was introduced during the reign of Maharaja Gulab Singh (1846–1857) for hunting purposes.
It was also informed that Hangul population estimation is carried out by the Department every two years. As per the data, the estimated Hangul population has shown a steady increase over the past decade—from 183 in 2015 to 214 in 2017, 237 in 2019, 261 in 2021, 289 in 2023 and 323 in 2025.
The data indicates a consistent rise in the Hangul population, suggesting that the increase in wild boar population has not adversely affected the growth of Hangul in Dachigam National Park.
