Farmer dies in wild elephant attack

Siddapur, Mar. 12; A coffee farmer was killed in a wild elephant attack in broad daylight in Siddapur. The deceased has been identified as Chaurira D. Ganapathy, a resident of Guhya village.

A lone elephant suddenly attacked Ganapathy (Gappu-49), a resident of Guhya village, at around 11 am while he was going into the coffee plantation to see how he was working in his plantation. When Ganapathy tried to run away from the wild elephant attack, the elephant trampled Ganapathy on the head, chest and legs, killing him on the spot. Later, when the elephant roared, some workers at the spot ran away and escaped the wild elephant attack. The workers who were working on black pepper escaped the attack by climbing a tree. While running, Naushad, who was looking after the garden, slipped and fell and hurt his leg. The incident of a wild elephant attacking and killing him in broad daylight has created panic in the village. On learning about this, the villagers arrived in droves. On the complaint of the local residents to the forest department officials, Virajpet Zone Forest Officer Shivaram and his staff immediately arrived at the spot. Later, the dead body was brought to the morgue of the Siddapur Community Health Center. The deceased Ganapathi was unmarried and worked at a private resort in Kushalnagar area.

The villagers said that a solitary cave had been roaming around the village even during the day for the past few days. They alleged that no action had been taken even after informing the forest department about this.

Protest against the department

On learning about the death of Kaffi Belagar Ganapathi in a wild elephant attack in broad daylight, the villagers and office bearers of various organizations and political parties gathered near the morgue and expressed their anger. They insisted that the body would not be removed from the morgue until the Chief Conservator of Forests arrived at the scene. They shouted slogans against the Forest Department. They protested, alleging that the incident took place due to the negligence of the Forest Department. The protesters demanded that a permanent plan be formulated to prevent wild elephants from entering the country. The Forest Department officials, who bowed to the pressure of the protesters, received the Chief Conservator of Forests. 

Official Visit

The District Chief Conservator of Forests Sonali Vrishni, who arrived at the scene, viewed the body. On this occasion, the protesters took the Chief Conservator of Forests to task. In the last 66 days, 4 people have died in wild elephant attacks in the district. They questioned what action has been taken. Two people have died in wild elephant attacks in the last two days. They expressed dissatisfaction that the Forest Department has not taken any action. Human life has become worthless. The department is washing its hands of the incident by providing compensation only. They expressed their anger that it has been negligent without formulating a permanent plan. It is not the right course of action to conduct operations in the name of taming the wild elephants that are camping in coffee plantations and wreaking havoc. They demanded that the encroachment of wild elephants be stopped. The government has proposed to carry out railway barricade work to prevent the menace of wild elephants. However, the protesters alleged that this is unscientific and of no use and demanded that the wild elephants be captured and relocated. The protesters expressed their dissatisfaction that the government and the forest department have failed to prevent this despite the continuous human-elephant conflict in the district. They asked the CCF to answer what action they have taken so far. They complained that the menace of wild animals in the district is excessive and the department is not taking any action to control it.

Responding to this, Chief Conservator of Forests Sonali said that the government has approved the railway barricade work to prevent the encroachment of wild elephants and the work will start in the coming days. However, the protesters, who did not accept his words, demanded that the Forest Department provide a written statement about the steps to be taken to prevent the encroachment of wild elephants.

Demand for Rs. 1 crore compensation

The protesters demanded that the CCF provide Rs. 1 crore compensation to the family of a young man who died after being attacked by a wild elephant. They demanded that the deceased family be given only Rs. 20 lakhs, which is not beneficial, but one crore.

Demand for FIR against the department

The protesters alleged that the incident of Kaffi Belgar's death after being attacked by a wild elephant occurred due to the negligence of the Forest Department officials and demanded that the police register a case against the Forest Department and take action. The body will not be removed from the morgue until a case is registered. Innocent lives are being lost due to the negligence of the forest department. If a case is not registered against the department officials at the police station, the protesters demanded that the body be kept on the roadside and a protest will be held.

The forest department, which has not brought the wild elephants under control, is making baseless allegations against the forest officials and registering a case, the forest officials said.

Complaint against the department

The incident in which farmer Ganapathi died after being attacked by a wild elephant occurred due to the negligence of the forest department. A complaint was filed at the Siddapur police station under the leadership of K.B. Hemachandra, legal advisor of the district unit of the Karnataka State Farmers' Association, against the forest department officials.

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