Wild elephants camp in plantations, destroy crops

The wild elephant menace has been on the rise in Kodagu district. The farmers complain that the pachyderms have been destroying coffee, plantain, cardamom and areca crops.

Moreover, elephants have been attacking people. As per the figures of the forest department, 75 people have lost their lives due to elephant attacks during the last 10 years.

The elephant menace is generally on the rise between the months of November and May as there is no water and food for elephants in the forests in summer.

The elephants sneak into coffee plantations, stay there and give birth to their young ones and never go back into forests.

Subhash Nanaiah, a coffee planter from Bakka village, complained that elephant herds attack the coffee plantation and destroy the crops grown during the year.

"The forest department provides very low compensation to the growers. The operation of capturing wild elephants and leaving them into the forests is not carried out effectively," he added.

Not serving the purpose

The solar fences and elephant trenches constructed to prevent the entry of elephants are not of any help.

The forest department has not erected railway fences in full scale.

As per a study, a wild elephant requires 90 to 272 kilos of fodder and 189 litres of water every day.

But, such a huge amount of food is not available in the forest, which compels the elephants to come to the plantations. The forest department should grow more fruit-bearing trees in the forest, say the farmers.

Labourers in panic

The plantation labourers living in the line houses are in constant fear of wild elephant attacks.

Workers in Suntikoppa, Siddapura, Titimati, Sampaje, Maldare, Chennangi, Chennaiahnakote, Guhya, Kakkatakadu, Chettalli, Diddalli, Aluru-Siddapura and Madapura regions are in the grip of fear as the wild elephant menace is high in these regions.