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Karnataka
By R. Krishna Kumar
Recently, 17 adult elephants and five calves were found in the Nugu backwater area in the H.D. Kote-Sargur belt. They fed on the crops raised by subsistence farmers. The farmers tried to drive the animals back to the wild, but they were unable to retrace their way. They now frequent Hegudulu and Halsur villages. Nearly 25 elephants in the Chikkadevabetta, Lanke, Hunsehalli, and Rajur areas are also unable to retrace their way to the wild owing to the encroachment of their habitats and destruction of elephant corridors. Farmers complain that the compensation announced by the Government for the crops damaged by the elephants is inadequate. The money is paid at the rate of Rs.750 an acre. The Forest Department releases compensation for the damaged cotton crop at the rate of Rs.400 a quintal. The market rate is Rs.2,400 a quintal, according to Vivek Cariappa, an organic farmer in Sargur. Mr. Cariappa told The Hindu that unless the farmers were paid adequate compensation, the man-elephant conflict in the region would escalate. Without the local community's support, the elephant and other wild animals in Nugu, Bandipur and Nagarahole forests would have a bleak future. The elephants tended to migrate to the northern fringes of the forests which abutted large agricultural tracts. As a result, crop raids and depredation of crops by the elephants were common between September and January. Farmers have already evolved various "techniques'' to eliminate the "elephant menace.'' A bullet from a crude country-made gun can injure a calf or an adult elephant which will die after weeks of agonising pain. The other method is poisoning fodder and crops. But the ghastliest method that has surfaced in the border regions of H.D. Kote-Chamarajanagar-Sargur belt is hiding explosives in fruits and sugarcane. As the elephants chew them, the explosives blow up. Electrocution is rampant in the Chamarajanagar-Mysore belt. Many farmers draw power from overhead lines and connect it to the fences around their lands at night. The Mysore-Chamarajanagar belt has the highest rate of elephant electrocution in the country. According to wildlife conservationists, more elephants are killed by the local community than those by poachers. The Nugu-Sargur-H.D.Kote belt is close to the Bandipur National Park and the Nagarahole National Park which have the highest number of elephants in the country. As per the latest enumeration, not less than 8000 elephants are there in the region encompassing Bandipur, Nagarahole, Mudumalai, and Wynad. The forests around Nugu are close to Kerala and Tamil Nadu and poachers operate with impunity. The management plan for Bandipur moots solar powered fencing and formation of elephant proof trenches to prevent wild animals from straying into the fields. Other steps include changing the cropping pattern on the periphery of the forests, improving availability of fodder and water in the forests, and timely payment of crop compensation. Unless the larger issue of illegal encroachment of forests, habitat degradation, and destruction of the elephant corridor are tackled, the elephants will be forced to stray into human habitation.
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