All those who benefit from nature have a responsibility to protect it: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that everyone who is benefiting from nature has a responsibility to protect it and that afforestation should increase since the state does not have adequate forest cover.

He paid floral tributes at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Aranya Bhavan on the occasion of National Forest Martyrs’ Day.

“It is a good thing that the number of elephants and tigers in the state is increasing. But more effective work needs to be done to avoid animal-human conflict and protect human and animal wealth. He called for the use of modern technology available for this purpose,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the compensation amount given to the families of forest martyrs has been increased from Rs 30 to 50 lakh.

Emphasising that forest martyrs are the saviours of mankind, he wished that their sacrifice would be an inspiration for forest conservation.