Mangaluru – With Dakshina Kannada lacking both the expertise and infrastructure to handle wild elephant incursions, MLC Ivan D’Souza is set to raise the demand for a dedicated Elephant Task Force (ETF) during the state legislature session starting Monday.
D’Souza said the Mangaluru Forest Division has been forced to depend on trackers from Madikeri Division whenever elephants stray into human habitats — a delay that hampers swift action during man-animal conflict situations. He plans to move a calling attention motion seeking a reply from Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on the establishment of an ETF equipped with manpower, vehicles, a control room, and other facilities.
The Mangaluru division has 95 km of natural elephant corridors, intersected by major highways including Charmadi Ghat, Shiradi Ghat, and Mani–Madikeri stretches. Factors such as forest fires, infrastructure projects, and habitat loss have increased elephant movement toward roads and villages.
Currently, 171 of 328 posts in the division remain vacant, compounding the challenge. “Without an ETF, the department struggles to capture or chase away elephants, risking lives and property,” D’Souza said.
He proposed that the ETF be modeled on units in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Madikeri, with Sullia as its headquarters and a satellite unit in Gundya. The estimated cost is ₹1.7 crore for setup, plus ₹64 lakh for the eight-month salary of 32 outsourced skilled elephant watchers.