Ramnagar: Minister of State for Forest Ecology and Environment Ishwar Khandre said that “Elephant task forces will be formed to quickly chase back the elephants, to control elephant-human conflict”.
He was speaking to mediapersons after visiting Ramanagara district along with MP D.K Suresh and MLC S Ravi.
He said that normally elephants come to the villages to eat jackfruit, sugarcane and coffee seeds and to prevent this, solar wire fencing and hanging solar fencing are the solution and will be installed in the areas where elephants are there.
Work is underway to put up 132 kilometres of barricades near the Cauvery wildlife sanctuary, out of which 89 km has been completed. Officials have been asked to complete the remaining work at the earliest, he said.
He said that forest officials have been instructed to ensure that there is no loss of life in Hassan, Kodagu, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara and Bannerghatta areas. Of the 641 kilometres of barricading and solar fencing planned across the state, 360 kilometres have been completed, there are 629 elephants in the state, the death rate is very low as compared to other states. however, human life is precious and the government is committed to take all necessary steps to avoid loss of life, he added.
In 2019-20, there were 50 deaths due to wild animal attacks in the state, of which 29 deaths were due to elephants. While 41 deaths occurred during 20-21, 29 deaths occurred during 2021-22 and 51 during 2022-23, of which 29 were due to elephant attacks.
At present, the Elephant Task Force is operating in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar. The construction of the railway barricade will cost Rs 1.5 crore per km, while the hanging solar fence and solar fence will cost Rs 6 lakh each.
Responding to MP Suresh’s suggestion that the elephant fence could be avoided if thick stone barriers were constructed instead of solar fences, the minister asked the officials to submit a comparative report of railway barricades and stone barriers. Equal compensation should be given for crop damage caused by the attacks of some animals, similarly, the damage to some crops is also not being compensated, which has affected the farmers and compensation for the damage to all crops and all wild animals will be reviewed, he said.
He suggested that action should be taken to catch leopards in many parts of the state and send them to the forest.
Leopards and tigers, who have tasted human blood, are frequently attacking, he said, adding that there is a need to nurture them in rehabilitation centres and this task is being carried out by the department.
