Over 4,250 'Nilgais' culled in Bihar in one year due to crop damage: Minister

 As many as 4,279 ‘Ghodparas' or 'Nilgais' were culled in several districts of Bihar over the last one year, due to widespread damage to crops, a state minister said on Monday.

Bihar's Environment, Fore.st and Climate Change Minister Sunil Kumar disclosed the figure while replying to a calling attention in the assembly.

"Around 4,279 ‘Ghodparas’ (blue bulls) were culled in different districts in the state in the year 2024-25 (till February). The drive to cull ‘Ghodparas’ was launched in response to requests from various corners, as they caused damage to crops on farmlands even far away from forest areas," Kumar said.

The highest number of ‘Nilgais' were culled in Vaishali (3,057), followed by Gopalganj (685), Samastipur (256), Muzaffarpur (124), Sitamarhi (71), Munger (48), Saran (18), Begusarai (14) and Nalanda (6), he said.

The minister, however, did not provide the figure of wild boars culled by the authorities concerned in the state.

“Officials have been empowered to cull such animals where the problem is grave. They prepare a strategy before launching the culling drive in their respective districts. The role of the mukhiya (village head) is crucial in the entire process,” he said.

The state government gives compensation (Rs 50,000 per hectare) to farmers whose crops are damaged by these animals, Kumar said.

The village heads engage empanelled professional shooters of the environment department to cull these animals “with utmost caution”, he said.

“These animals move in herds and can destroy acres of crops in a day. In various places, farmers stay awake all night to protect their ripening crops from ‘Ghodparas’ and wild boars,” said a senior official of the department.