Mysuru: Elephant menace has thrown life out of gear in villages attached to forest areas in this district of Karnataka.
In the past two days, three incidents of jumbos straying into the villages have caused havoc, endangering life and property.
While the farmers are worried over destruction of crops, people are rescheduling their travel plans. Though the forest department is successful in sending elephants back to the forests, the pachyderms are moving back to their territory but not before causing heavy damage.
Videos of elephants roaming across the roads and streets of villages in Mysuru have gone viral on social media. The issue has also given way to the debate on man-animal conflict.
Villagers of Nanjangud and Hunsur taluk are the most worried following incidents of elephants crossing over to their agricultural fields. Farmers of Maduvinahalli village in Nanjangud taluk have threatened to consume poison if the elephant menace is not addressed. They have further warned that they will do it in front of the Forest department office.
Elephants cross over to the village through the broken iron wall of pillars. The forest department is yet to reconstruct the wall.
The elephants have created panic among villagers of Pejnalli and Haralalli in Hunsur taluk. A tusker which strayed into Haralalli, had attacked an elderly woman, she had suffered a fracture in the leg. The villagers living on the fringes of the forests are worried about the movement of elephants and want the government to take steps to secure their lives and properties.
According to the latest elephant census, Karnataka is home to 6,072 Asiatic elephants, 5,945 of which were spotted in the Mysuru elephant reserve (MER) alone.
–IANS