Madikeri: Colonel(Retd) Cheppudira Muthanna, founder of the Environment and Health Foundation, has urged the government to take action to capture all wild elephants present on private lands and relocate them to forest habitats.
Speaking at a press conference in the city, he said that elephant menace in the district’s coffee estates has intensified, and in the coming days, there may be a severe shortage of labour. Therefore, the Forest Minister must take appropriate action.
To control elephants, it is essential to ensure they have access to food and water. Barricades in the form of electric fencing must be constructed. Elephants should be released into forest areas where water is available. Barricades along the forest boundaries must be upgraded, and local gram panchayats should be involved in maintaining them. Secure zones for elephants must be developed, and elephant corridors must be established, he emphasized.
He also stated that radio collars should be fitted to all tigers above seven years of age living on the periphery of tiger reserves. The Karnataka Forest Department should be allocated a higher budget. Furthermore, the government must decide on imposing limits on large-scale developmental projects in the forest habitats of Kodagu and surrounding regions.
Environment and Health Foundation representatives Shyam Bopayya, Gopinath, and Kalaiah were present at the press conference.
