Forest Minister Khandre holds meeting, gives instructions to officers on avoiding human-elephant conflict

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, on Monday, held an emergency meeting via video conference with senior officers of the department and instructed the officials to alert people in the areas bordering forests about the movement of wild elephants.

The Minister held the meeting in the wake of two deaths due to elephant attacks within six days in Chikkamagaluru, according to a communique from the Minister’s office.

Mr. Khandre told the officers to form WhatsApp groups of residents and planters in the area bordering forests and alert them about the movement of elephants. “Human life is precious, and the loss of two lives is painful. The officers should ensure such incidents do not repeat,” he said.

Further, the Minister told the officers to conduct the elephant capturing operation by clamping prohibitory orders in the area compulsorily to avoid untoward incidents. He also suggested the use of thermal drones to track the movement of the elephants.

During the meeting, the officers stated that after the death of one person on February 16, the department had launched an operation to capture the elephant, and also informed the local planters not to send workers to the estates. However, they ignored the instructions. The Minister told the officers to file complaints against the planters who neglect the instructions.

At present, around 35 wild elephants, spread over three groups, have been roaming in parts of Chikkamagaluru district. “It is quite common to expect the wild animals to move out of the forest areas during summer. However, the officers should take all measures necessary to minimise the human-elephant conflict,” he said.