Days after incidents of bee attack were reported from several districts, the Uttar Pradesh government has begun the process of including attacks by bees, jackals and foxes in the category of state notified disasters. The Relief Commissioner’s office sent a proposal to this effect after it was approved by a committee chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh. Currently, attacks by seven animals — including elephants, tigers, leopards, and bears — are listed under the category. Once notified, in the event of a fatality caused by such attacks, the victim’s family will be entitled to a compensation of Rs 4 lakh, while the injured will receive free treatment at government hospitals. “The proposal was discussed and approved in a meeting of the state executive committee of the State Disaster Relief Fund headed by the Chief Secretary. It has now been forwarded to the state government for a final decision. Once officially notified, victims of such incidents will be eligible for compensation under disaster relief provisions,” said a senior official from the Relief Commissioner's Office. Last week, several incidents of bee attacks, including one in which 11 people, among them two IAS officers, were injured near the Buddhist caves in the dense forest area of Deogarh. The incident involving the attack on the officers occurred during a district visit to review development projects. As the swarm attacked, security personnel and staff accompanying the officials tried to shield them but were also stung in the ensuing chaos. In another incident reported from Barabanki, one person died after being attacked. “Based on recent incidents, a report was prepared and presented before the state executive committee, which subsequently approved the proposal,” the official added. According to the available information, attacks by jackals, foxes, and bees are proposed to be classified under man-animal conflict, one of the 11 categories recognised as state disasters. “With the inclusion of jackals, foxes, and bees, the number will rise to 10. The move aims to bring cases of injury and death caused by these animals within the scope of the disaster relief framework,” the official said.
