As harvest season begins, the elephant menace intensifies in Khanapur taluka, where a herd of 6 to 7 elephants has been causing significant damage to paddy and sugarcane fields. In response, Karnataka authorities have launched an operation to drive the elephants back into the forests surrounding Khanapur taluka and Goa, within the Bhimgarh Wildlife Sanctuary.
Distressed by the threat of elephants harming villagers and destroying crops, farmers and locals urged forest officials to relocate the animals. Khanapur MLA Vitthalrao Halgekar appealed to senior forest officials earlier this week, requesting urgent action. Acting swiftly, Deputy Chief Secretary of the Karnataka Forest Department, Manjunath Prasad, instructed local forest officials to move the elephants back into the forested areas.
Due to the challenges involved in capturing and relocating the elephants, the department has opted for a drive-back approach. A 30-member team, led by forest ranger Srikant Patil, is closely monitoring elephant movements in the area.
Forest officials have advised farmers to avoid entering fields during early morning and late evening hours and to refrain from traveling on farm paths at night. They also urged farmers with fieldside homes to light fires near their homes for added safety and cautioned against using stones or firecrackers to drive off the elephants.
“With a herd of six to seven elephants in the area, we are now using drums and sounds to guide them back into the dense forest,” one forest official explained.
Some farmers believe that once driven out, the elephants are likely to enter Goa forests through the Bhimgarh boundary.
