The long-pending demand of farmers and Federation of Coffee Growers’ to find a permanent solution to the wild jumbo menace, and to check the loss of lives and property, is yet to be addressed by the governments.
The Malnad region is reporting a number of deaths due to wild animals, including jumbos, and also loss of properties. The number of wild animals is increasing every year, so are human-animal conflicts, creating fear among the people of the taluk.
Environmentalists say that the government should analyse, why wild jumbos and other animals, which form corridors of their own in the forests, stray into villages in search of food. Human interference into wilderness, in the name of development has resulted in insufficient food and water in forests for the wild animals, they said.
Minor hydel power projects, petroleum pipelines, hi-tension powerlines, Yettinahole project and several others are under progress in the Western Ghats. The works create noise pollution in the forests, which are otherwise silent. Humans, who enter forests in the pretext of work, start disturbing the habitats and also hunt them.
Some miscreants even poison ponds to catch fish. Some dodge Forest department personnel and poach wild animals for trade. Tree felling and stealing of forest resources, violating Forest Act, force the animals to stray into villages, they said.
Environmentalist Goddu Umesh said, “Various projects launched in the Western Ghats are the cause for the rise in wild jumbo menace. Bamboo and other plants, consumed by jumbos, grow in abundance near water sources. Now, the government has constructed hydel projects near streams and rivers, for generating power, to be used for the Yettinahole projects. Thus, elephants stray into villages in search of food and even camp there.”
The government should stop all projects in Reserve forests, as development works affect animals. Strict measures should be taken to ensure that humans are not allowed into forests. This will enable wild animals to get food in forests, said environmentalist Vikram.
MLA H K Kumaraswamy said, “No works related to development will be allowed inside the reserve forest in future. I will demand the government to stop the existing hydel power projects.”
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