Where the nets fail, sarees work

Sometimes when a specially designed tool fails to solve the problem, common sense works effectively. A case in point involves the Dholka farmers, who have found an innovative way of using old sarees to tackle the menace of blue-bulls, which ruin their crops in the farms. In fact, state government's efforts at controlling these powerful animals through nets have not brought results.

State environment and forest minister Mangubhai Patel said, "The issue of blue-bull is very strange and many plans have been experimented to deal with it. However, there has not been any significant success in controlling the animal. They are very strong and can jump 6-8 feet high. We have bought a special net from Kolkata to catch the blue-bulls at the cost of Rs2.5 lakh but not a single blue-bull has been caught in it."

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, former MLA of Dholka, said: "I saw some farmers using sarees to keep blue-bulls away from their farms. So I asked other farmers to try it and it was found to be a successful strategy to tackle the animals."

Pravinsinh Dabhi, chairman of agriculture produce market committee of Dholka, said: "I am using sarees in my farms and there are 50-60 other farmers doing it. We just buy old sarees from street vendors that cost  Rs5 and cover the boundaries of farms with it. After the wheat season, we have sowed tomatoes. Sarees help us in keeping animals like blue-bull and pigs away. Fluttering of sarees in the night wind creates a sound which keeps these animals away from the farms. It is very effective; earlier, we used to use a scarecrow in our farms but this is a better option."