PM meet gives Karnataka hope to revive great Indian bustard
BENGALURU: Amid a slew of wildlife conservation plans that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed on Monday while chairing the seventh meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) at Sasan in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, particular mention of reviving the almost-extinct population of great Indian bustard (GIB) lifted the hopes of forest and wildlife officials in Karnataka.
In August 2024, the state’s GIB sighting was just two, at Siruguppa in Ballari. But this year, only one was sighted in Bidar — the smallest sighted population of this endangered bird species in India.
The shocking decline in the GIB population is being attributed to poaching, habitat loss, collisions with windmills, power lines and vehicles. “Before it is completely wiped out, collaborative work needs to be done,” a wildlife official said.
