Hassan: District minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Tuesday urged the forest department to strengthen the wild elephant movement alert mechanism and rapid response team. In a meeting with officials here, the minister asked to establish a task force at the village level to mitigate wild elephant conflict.
The task force must consist of ASHA workers, anganwadi workers, officials of the revenue department, gram panchayat, and police. According to him, task forces at the village level rather than gram panchayat would be more effective. He advised making a cluster to reach more people with an accurate message, stating that force would be multiplied if these staff were utilized.
He directed to strengthen the rapid response system to alert people about the movement of wild elephants near human habitats. Highlighting the reasons for increased conflict, he said the Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway also contributed to the conflict. Traditional elephant corridors have been closed, resulting in conflict. Even the elephant population has increased owing to strict wildlife protection rules. "It is difficult to answer people during the conflict," the minister said.
The state government is well aware of the problems created by wildlife, and thousands of crores have been invested to prevent the conflict. People demand to relocate elephants, and a proposal was submitted to the Union government, but the state did not get approval, he said. "Now, after two years, we decided for a soft release centre, also a kind of rehabilitation centre," Byre Gowda said. The centre will be as per the guidance of the high court and would be operative in another six months.
The minister also interacted with the elephant task force staff. Chief conservator of forests V Yedukondalu, DC KS Latha Kumari, and others were present.
