Beware! A wild tusker on prowl in Charmadi Ghat

NT Correspondent  

Bengaluru: At a time when the incident in which two persons were trampled to death by wild jumbos in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district is still fresh in public memory, a lone tusker is giving ‘darshan’ to travellers at Charmadi Ghat on the Ujire-Chikmagalur Highway much to the worry of the travelling public.

On Thursday, a KSRTC bus belonging to Hassan Depot, filled with passengers, had a close shave when the tusker stood on the roadside at the seventh hairpin bend on the ghat. Seeing the majestic jumbo on the roadside, the alert KSRTC driver stopped the bus at a safe distance and asked passengers not to make noise.

After gazing at the bus for a few minutes, the pachyderm went towards another hairpin bend in the same ghat. As the bus was stopped for more than 25 minutes, hundreds of vehicles piled up in both directions on the highway. The travelling public crossed the ghat with their hearts in their hands as lone tuskers are known for attacking vehicles.

Upon receiving information about the tusker on the highway, a team of officials from the Forest Department led by Panduranga Kamati and Rajaram rushed to the spot but the elephant had left the place by that time. This is the fourth time that the same tusker has been spotted in Charmadi Ghat.

First, it was seen on April 26 at 9 pm, on April 27 at 7 am, on May 9 at 2 am, and on May 17 at 6 pm. The road users have urged the Forest Department to nab the tusker and shift it to another forest in the interest of everyone.

Lurking danger

Traffic is heavy on Charmadi Ghat daily and no mobile network is available due to the thick forest cover. No other facilities are available on this highway. Locals use autorickshaws or three-wheeler goods autorickshaws for the movement of goods and people and it would be disastrous if the tusker attacked these slow-moving vehicles.