Belagavi: Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre convened a meeting with Ministers K.J. George, N.S. Boseraju, MLAs A.S. Ponnanna and Dr. Manthar Gowda and other MLAs from Hassan and Chikkamagaluru along with officials from the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) to address the escalating instances of human-elephant conflicts in the State. The meeting was held at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi. 

Khandre emphasised the need for enhanced training for all personnel of the Elephant Task Force, considering the fatalities of kumki elephants and KFD staff during wild elephant capture operations. He stressed that proper training for all Task Force members before participating in such operations is imperative.

To address human-wildlife conflict, Nodal Officers have been appointed in nine high-conflict districts, with instructions to spend at least two days per week in the assigned district to handle conflict situations. 

Railway barricades have been identified as the current best solution to prevent wild elephants from reaching farmlands. Khandre mentioned that Rs. 100 crore has been allocated for this purpose and the installation of barricades is underway. Efforts are being made to secure additional funds for the project.

The Minister noted that since April, Karnataka has witnessed 43 fatalities in human-wildlife conflicts, with 30 attributed to elephant attacks. Chamarajanagar recorded 10 deaths, Kodagu reported seven, Ramanagara documented three, while Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hassan Circle and Shivamogga each recorded two, and one death was reported from other region. 

Additionally, there were two deaths due to wild boar, one due to a crocodile attack, two due to bear attacks, three due to leopard attacks, four due to tiger attacks, and one due to a monkey bite.