Shivamogga: Minister for Forest, Ecology, and Environment Eshwar Khandre, has announced the establishment of an elephant camp in the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary to mitigate the human-elephant conflict in the regions of Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Shivamogga.

He was speaking at a programme organised to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary included under the Tiger Project, at Kuvempu University campus in Shivamogga recently. “We will set up an elephant camp in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, where trained elephants will be housed. If the camp is ready, we need not to bring the trained elephants from Mysuru or Kodagu districts for elephant operations, if any,” he said.

To address this issue, a proposal has been submitted to establish an Elephant Soft Release Centre on a 2,000 hectares of land within the sanctuary. The project, which will span around 5,000 acres, will include cultivation of bamboo, jackfruit and grass preferred food sources for elephants. Captured elephants will be relocated to this facility, which will be surrounded by barricades to prevent their escape, thus reducing the conflicts in Kodagu, Hassan, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts, the Minister added.

Khandre expressed satisfaction over the steady increase in the country’s tiger population from 1,827 in 1980 to over 3,000 today. “Earlier, the tigers were killed for their claws and skin. We have opened more than 200 anti-poaching camps and succeeded in containing poaching activities. Bhadra Tiger Reserve alone has about 40 tigers,” he added.

The Forest Minister emphasised the need to protect the rich biodiversity of the region and urged the participation of public representatives, officials, organisations and environmentalists. He also released a commemorative postal stamp, a website and a booklet to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of the reserve.