Both incidents in Chamarajanagar district; Forest Dept. neglected duty, say villagers

Chamarajanagar: Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations turned tragic for two families and villagers in Chamarajanagar district yesterday, with a farmer being killed in a wild elephant attack in the morning and another farmer losing his life in a tiger attack in the evening.

In the first incident, 68-year-old Jannoor Nayak of Kotekere village in Gundlupet taluk was fatally attacked by a wild elephant while he was tying cattle in his field. Though he was rushed to Mysuru for treatment, he succumbed to his injuries.

Kotekere comes under the Omkar Wildlife Range of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

Following the incident, angry farmers staged a protest in front of the Omkar Forest Office, alleging that the Forest Department had failed to take effective measures despite repeated elephant raids in the area since March. They said, the raids had resulted in extensive crop damage.

The protesters demanded compensation for the victim’s family and legal action against officials whom they accused of negligence. The protest was withdrawn after Forest Department officials assured them of relief and measures to control the elephant menace.

Tiger kills farmer

In another incident, 65-year-old Basavanna of Badagalapura village in Chamarajanagar taluk was killed in a tiger attack while he was grazing his cows in his agricultural field last evening.

Basavanna had taken his cows to the field, which falls within the BRT buffer zone. While he was cutting grass for the cattle, a tiger emerged from a neighbouring sugarcane field, pounced on him and dragged him into the sugarcane crop.

The cows returned home in the evening without Basavanna. When his family members went in search of him at around 7.30 pm, they were shocked to find the tiger feeding on his body.

They immediately alerted villagers, who rushed to the spot and scared away the tiger. The family members and villagers remained at the spot until around 9.30 pm and staged a protest, expressing their anger against the Forest Department.

Complaints ignored, allege villagers

According to the villagers, the tiger had been sighted in the vicinity of the village for nearly two months and complaints had been made to the Forest Department.

They alleged that officials and staff had conducted a combing operation using a drone camera but failed to take follow-up measures to prevent the tiger and other wild animals from entering human habitation.

Holding the Forest Department responsible for Basavanna’s death, the family members and villagers initially refused to allow the body to be shifted for post-mortem. They demanded immediate compensation and a Government job for a member of the deceased’s family. Senior Police officials, who reached the spot, held discussions with the family members and villagers and managed to convince them to cooperate. The body was shifted to Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) at around 3 am today for post-mortem.

The villagers have urged the Forest Department to capture the tiger and take effective measures to prevent wild animals from entering the villages.