<p>Bengaluru: Six kumki (trained) elephants will be handed over to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh at a ceremony to be held on Wednesday, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.</p><p>The elephants will help strengthen the friendship between the two states besides helping Andhra Pradesh in handling the problem of man-animal conflicts. </p><p>"The man-elephant conflict in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor is also affecting people in the border district of Kolar. The kumki elephants will help capture the animals involved in such conflicts," Khandre said.</p><p>He said the handover of elephants is part of the agreement made on the sidelines of the international conference on man-elephant conflict in August last year. Khandre and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan signed a memorandum of understanding for the elephants.</p>.22-year-old Karnataka woman found dead in Punjab university, family demands transparent probe.<p>Khandre said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar will hand over the elephants. "Elephants taking part in Dasara or identified to be part of Dasara celebrations will not be handed over," he said.</p><p>Activists had opposed the government's decision to give kumki elephants to other states. "We have already handed over 59 elephants earlier. Now we are giving more. However, the department is not being transparent in the way it takes up these exercises. We need to know the steps taken to ensure their safety as well as the details of their role in conservation," activist Joseph Hoover said.</p><p>Hoover also questioned the government over the failure to protect the elephant habitats and corridors. He said the department's failure to protect the elephant habitats has led to a situation of increased number of conflicts, leading to capturing of elephants. The government needs to relook into the matter to enhance conservation measures, he added.</p><p><strong>101 kumki elephants in state</strong></p><p>Senior officials in the forest department said the handover of six elephants will not have any impact on the rescue operations within Karnataka, which has a high number of kumki elephants.</p><p>Of the six elephants, four are from Dubare and two from Sakrebailu camp. "We have 101 elephants in our camps. Of them, we use a maximum of 35 for operations. If the kumki elephants help prevent conflicts in the neighbouring states, they are doing a good service for conservation," a senior officer told <em>DH</em>.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Six kumki (trained) elephants will be handed over to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh at a ceremony to be held on Wednesday, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.</p><p>The elephants will help strengthen the friendship between the two states besides helping Andhra Pradesh in handling the problem of man-animal conflicts. </p><p>"The man-elephant conflict in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor is also affecting people in the border district of Kolar. The kumki elephants will help capture the animals involved in such conflicts," Khandre said.</p><p>He said the handover of elephants is part of the agreement made on the sidelines of the international conference on man-elephant conflict in August last year. Khandre and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan signed a memorandum of understanding for the elephants.</p>.22-year-old Karnataka woman found dead in Punjab university, family demands transparent probe.<p>Khandre said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar will hand over the elephants. "Elephants taking part in Dasara or identified to be part of Dasara celebrations will not be handed over," he said.</p><p>Activists had opposed the government's decision to give kumki elephants to other states. "We have already handed over 59 elephants earlier. Now we are giving more. However, the department is not being transparent in the way it takes up these exercises. We need to know the steps taken to ensure their safety as well as the details of their role in conservation," activist Joseph Hoover said.</p><p>Hoover also questioned the government over the failure to protect the elephant habitats and corridors. He said the department's failure to protect the elephant habitats has led to a situation of increased number of conflicts, leading to capturing of elephants. The government needs to relook into the matter to enhance conservation measures, he added.</p><p><strong>101 kumki elephants in state</strong></p><p>Senior officials in the forest department said the handover of six elephants will not have any impact on the rescue operations within Karnataka, which has a high number of kumki elephants.</p><p>Of the six elephants, four are from Dubare and two from Sakrebailu camp. "We have 101 elephants in our camps. Of them, we use a maximum of 35 for operations. If the kumki elephants help prevent conflicts in the neighbouring states, they are doing a good service for conservation," a senior officer told <em>DH</em>.</p>