Forest minister orders strengthening of task force, increased monitoring of elephant movement

In the wake of a series of conflicts with elephants that has left five persons dead, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre on Tuesday ordered the department to strengthen the Elephant Task Force and radio collar the problematic elephants.

During a meeting with senior officials of the department, the minister expressed concern over the increasing man-animal conflict and the resulting trail of casualties. He noted that the conflict is also leading to animal deaths due to electrocution or snares.

Khandre suggested the officials enhance the use of technology to minimise the conflict situations. "There is a need for sending alerts to the people in real time about the sighting of elephants in human habitats even as efforts must be made to send the animals back to the forest. This will minimise casualties," he added.

Officials briefed the minister on the situation in Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts. Efforts were on to track the few problematic elephants that are repeatedly raiding crops or entering villages. They said a radio collar has been installed on 14 such elephants to monitor their movements.

Khandre noted that there was a need to strengthen the elephant task force in districts where the conflict was recurring. He instructed the officials to use the remaining 30 radio collars procured by the department to monitor the other elephants involved in conflict.

The minister also sought details on the railway barricades installed to prevent the straying of elephants into human habitats.