Man-animal conflict seems to have claimed the lives of two people in Karnataka within a span of three days.
A 42-year-old farmer, identified as Balaji Nayka, was fatally attacked by a tiger while working in his field within the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). The incident occurred in the Moleyur range forest area in Saraguru taluk, Chamarajanagara district on Monday, November 6. Balaji was also a former gram panchayat member from Kadabeguru village, falling under B Matakere gram panchayat. Forest officials are currently conducting an intensified search operation to locate the tiger, which had previously attacked another villager.
In another incident, a 45-year-old woman, Meena, was trampled to death by an elephant in Hedadalu village, Chikkamagaluru district on Wednesday, November 8. Two other labourers also suffered severe injuries from the elephant's attack and are receiving treatment at the Chikkamagaluru district hospital. Their condition is critical, it is reported.
The elephant attacked Meena and the others when they were on their way from her house to the farm. Meena tried to escape but the elephant caught her and then trampled upon her, officials told IANS. The incident occurred within the Alduru Forest range.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condoled the death of Meena and announced a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to her family. Following the incident, the CM held an emergency meeting with the District Collector, District Defense Officer, and senior officials of the Forest Department in Mudigere and instructed them to immediately take necessary action to relocate the wild animals that wandered into the town back to the forest.
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Villagers have expressed concerns about their safety as a herd of seven elephants has been spotted moving around close to the village, evoking all-round fear. They have requested that the elephants be relocated deeper into the jungle.
Furthermore, a lone tusker had separated from the herd and had been freely roaming in residential areas and farmlands for a month, posing a significant threat to the people's lives. The villagers said that they had drawn the attention of the forest authorities to the lone tusker issue, but no action had been taken.