Malnad’s elephant menace sparks alarm across districts

Chikkamagaluru: Energy Minister KJ George assured that necessary steps would be initiated to tackle the rising wild elephant menace in the Malnad region after consultations with senior forest department officials. Chairing the district-level quarterly KDP meeting at the Zilla Panchayat on Saturday, he highlighted that the issue isn’t confined to Chikkamagaluru alone but is intensifying in adjacent Shivamogga and Hassan districts as well.

The minister emphasized that well-planned decisions would soon be made to mitigate elephant-related disturbances in all three regions.

While a few lawmakers proposed convening a meeting based on the existing compliance report, Legislative Council Deputy Chairman MK Pranesh insisted on prioritizing a thorough discussion regarding the elephant threat. He cited that in Mudigere taluk alone, over 55 elephants are moving in herds, inflicting severe losses to coffee estates and farmlands while spreading fear among residents.

District Forest Officer Ramesh Babu shared statistics revealing the presence of 35 elephants in the Chikkamagaluru range, 125 in the Koppa area, and nearly 400 in the Bhadra Wildlife Division.

MLC CT Ravi noted that if elephants have sufficient food in their natural habitat, they are unlikely to intrude into human territories. Legislator Nayana Motamma pointed out that most disturbances stem from migrating herds originating in Hassan, not the local elephant population.

Udupi-Chikkamagalur MP Kota Srinivas Poojary endorsed the idea of hosting a joint session with forest officials and representatives from the three districts to seek a collaborative resolution.

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