The state government has approved for implementation of the Soft Area Release ‘scheme to rehabilitating wild elephants that are damaging agricultural crops and attacking innocent people.
Last three decades, the man animal conflict has increased a lot and wild elephants causing damages to the crop and attacking residents, has also increased. Wild elephant population has exceeded throughout the district. At the Wildlife Council meeting held recently in the presence of Chief Ministers, Forest Ministers, Forest Department officials and Virajpet MLA A S Ponnanna , the government has approved the need for a segregated area to evacuate the wild elephants which are causing damages to life and crop.
The marked wild elephant that are captured will be placed in the segregated area of the forest . However, once the fields are identified, all measures will be taken to install the necessary safety systems so that the other wild elephants will not come near the segregated area.
Attempts are being made to find a permanent solution to the wild elephant and human conflict.
At present, where there are trenches and railway fences in the district which were damaged,repair work will be undertaken with allocated fund of Rs 21 crore. for repair work.
The Forest Department has also taken various safety measures and steps to control wild elephant attacks.
Karnataka State Wildlife Council member Sanketh Poovaiah has said that Virajpet MLA A.S Ponnanna has asked a comprehensive report on where all trenches haves to be taken and railway barricade has to be erected in the district to control wild elephant, with the grant available from the government .
Of the total 6395 elephants in Karnataka, about two thousand elephants are located in Kodagu district. Sanketh Poovya informed that about 180 to 200 elephants have made coffee plantations their habitat, and these elephants are not going to forest . To find a permanent solution to all these, the government has to provide the necessary grants to relocate them .
Karnataka has the highest tigers after Madhya Pradesh. There are 563 tigers in the state, of which 135 tigers are in Nagarhole
The district has been affected by various wild elephant, tiger attack, wild boar and monkeys, and also many problems which are all should be addressed.
Attempts have been made to track down tigers which are attacking livestock in rural areas.
In South Kodagu Brahmagiri, Nagarahole and Pushpagiri forest, for about 120 km length Railway fence need to be carried to control wild animals entering residence area
Sanketh Poovya speaking further said that in the state a 350 km stretch of Railway fence has to be installed and requested central government to provide old and once used railway tracks to construct a railway fence in the state.
During the ten years between 2014 and 2024, a total of 33 death were reported in the Virajpet forest sector and 53 have injuries affected. Five of them have been permanent disability and 219 cattle have died.
The government has provided a total compensation of Rs 4.27 crore to those who have suffered from wild animals attack . Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Forest Minister Ishwar Khandre have released Rs 22 crore grant to install railway barricades, Sanketh Poovya added.
