Over 3,000 nilgai killed to curb crop damage

Patna: A total of 3,092 ghodparas (blue bull), commonly known as nilgai, have been killed in state in the financial year 2025-26 as the department of environment, forest and climate change intensified action to protect crops from animal attacks.

The department has granted special powers to gram panchayat heads, allowing them to authorise the hunting of up to 50 blue bulls at a time. Officials said the move was taken to curb repeated crop damage reported by farmers in several districts.

As per the press release from the govt, so far, 13 trained shooters have been enlisted by the department for the operation. More shooters will be appointed depending on the requirement in affected areas.

Department data shows that the highest number of blue bulls were hunted in Gopalganj and Siwan districts, where the combined figure reached 1,300. Vaishali recorded 1,052 killings, followed by Munger with 204, Nalanda with 165, Begusarai with 149, Motihari with 94, Saran with 70, Samastipur with 39, Gaya with 12, and Darbhanga with seven.

Officials said blue bull and wild boars frequently enter agricultural fields and cause extensive crop losses, leading to financial hardship for farmers across the state.

Issue of crop destructions by blue bull as well as wild boars have always been the topic of discussion in state assembly as well as council with legislators bringing the attention of the House towards huge crop destruction in different parts of Bihar.

Districts like Vaishali, East Champaran, Buxar, Siwan, and Samastipur are amongst the highly affected ones by the blue bulls. In budget session earlier this year, the state govt has even announced sterilisation programme to curb the population of blue bull in Bihar.
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