‘Constitute Expert Committee for out-of-the-box solutions’

Mysore/Mysuru: In a letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, K.C. Biddappa, Senior Vice-President, ITC Ltd., (retd.) and Past President of Coorg Wildlife Society, has said that though the Forest Department is trying to control elephant menace through solar fencing and Railway track barricades, they have proved ineffective. “Proper fencing like tentacle fencing, radio collaring, clearing encroachment on the elephant corridor, selective sterilisation of bull elephants and creating a separate fenced enclave for elephants covering 150 to 200 acres inside the reserve forests with easy availability of fodder and water could be some of the solutions,” he stated. 

“The State should put up a strong case with the Union Minister for Environment and seek financial help. People of Kodagu have a Constitutional right to protect themselves and families from marauding elephants. They must be exempted from criminal prosecution when they are using a weapon for this,” Biddappa, who is also a small coffee grower from Puliyeri village in Ammathi, Kodagu, opined.

A High-Powered Committee, consisting of expert retired senior Forest officials and wildlife experts, must be constituted along with current Principal Chief Conservators of Forest to undertake an in-depth study and find out-of-the-box solutions, he added.