News Karnataka
Thursday, March 28 2024
Cricket
Madikeri

6 elephants’ death due to live wire shocks wildlife lovers

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Madikeri: The electrocution of six elephants in Kannangala in south Kodagu has shocked wild life lovers all over the state.

Man-elephant conflict is at its peak in Virajpet region as 7 persons were killed by wild elephants. Around two decades ago, wild elephants had destroyed coffee, banana plantations, paddy fields at night.

But since the past ten years elephants have also been attacking people apart from destroying the crops. But most horrifying fact is that elephants even attacked bike riders, school going children, morning walkers on the highways as well! People started agitations against the forest department, held demonstrations in front of its offices but situation did not improve as elephant population is also rising every year.

Forest officials translocated few rogue elephants in Siddapura region last year but the menace did not stop. Bipin Devaiah, a farmer in Siddapura says that wild elephants destroy lakhs of rupees worth of crops while forest department provides a meagre compensation. He said that though the farmers had warned of taking law into their hands to control elephants, they did not do so.

Kisan Sangha members staged a huge protest in front of Ponnampet forest office on Tuesday urging to control wild elephant menace. Sangha’s District Unit President Rajiv Bopaiah said, “The state government provides a compensation of Rs 5 Lakh if elephant tramples a person which is not a solution.” Farmers urged the government to give them the authority to kill elephants to stop the menace.

However, the death of wild elephants worries forest officers also. Chief Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar said on Wednesday, that it was really unfortunate that 6 wild elephants were electrocuted in just a fortnight. He said the CHESCOM officers had been instructed to heighten the hanging power lines.

When contacted, CHESCOM Executive Engineer A K Somashekar said that since last two years they had replaced 23,000 electricity poles by spending Rs 30 Crore. He clarified that the CHESCOM had not neglected the instruction of forest department and work was underway. He justified that 4 of the elephants had died when they came in contact with the live wire that had fallen on the ground after a tree branch dropped on an electric pole.

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