In the wake of the rise in the man-elephant conflict in four districts of Karnataka, a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday, resolved to constitute an elephant task force in four districts to check the menace of wild elephants.
An order to this effect was issued soon after the meeting. The elephant task force, headed by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, will be set up in Hassan, Chikmagalur, Mysore and Kodagu districts, where the menace is more.
The task force must swing into action with immediate effect and it must work under the instructions of the respective Chief Conservator of Forests of the circles concerned, said the state government notification.
According the order, the task force must patrol in the jumbo-infested areas, monitor its movements in human habitation, agriculture fields and coffee estates, and drive them back into forests under the direction of the deputy conservator of forests. They must share information about the movement of wild elephants and creating awareness among the people not to move in the forest areas.
The state government directed to set up a control room in the headquarters of every task force and share the contact number with the citizens. Further, the task force members must be provided with walkie-talkies, guns and crackers which are necessary to drive back the wild jumbos into forests.
The Head of the forest force must deploy Range Forest Officers, Assistant Conservator of Forests and forest guards to each district task force. Moreover, three SUVs must be provided to each district elephant task force to reach the jumbo-infested areas immediately. Besides, Canter vehicles must be taken on rent and handover it to the task force.
The state government directed that the help of police must be sought at the time of driving back the wild jumbos into forests.
Meanwhile, a Karnataka BJP MLA was allegedly beaten by angry villagers in Chikkamagaluru district on Sunday when he was on his way to express his condolences to the family of a woman who died in an elephant attack.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's MLA from Mudigere, MP Kumaraswamy's clothes were allegedly torn by locals of Hullemane village when he visited them following the death of the woman in the elephant attack.
The villagers alleged that the MLA did not respond properly to provide relief to the people from continuous elephant attacks.
As per the information, the woman succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.
Locals say their village is being continuously attacked by elephants. They held the local administration and the MLA responsible for these attacks alleging that he did not do anything concrete to provide relief to the people from the elephant attacks.
Informing about the incident, the police said they took the MLA to their vehicle to protect him from the angry villagers. Later in a video, Kumaraswamy was seen in a torn shirt and heard saying that the attack on him was well-planned and there was not adequate police security.
Kumaraswamy has been elected from the Mudigere seat thrice in 2004, 2008, and 2018.
With increasing attacks by elephants and other animals on crops and villagers, Mudigere taluk coffee growers president Balakrishna has sought the Union Government's intervention to keep wild animals under control. He also demanded a special task force to tackle the elephant menace.
( With inputs from ANI )
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