India, March 2 -- Uttarakhand's Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission is conducting a study on the impact of wild animals destroying agricultural fields and will submit its findings to the state government by the end of March. The study has been commissioned as such damage has been cited as a factor contributing to migration from rural areas.

Sharad Singh Negi, the commission vice chairman, said data has been collected from nearly 7,000 gram panchayats across Uttarakhand, and analysis is currently underway. "We are assessing the extent of damage, identifying which wild animals are causing the most harm, which crops are affected, and in which regions the problem is more severe."

Negi said the nature of the problem varies ...