Wild jumbo enters Sakleshpur town; fearful residents stay indoors

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: With a tusker disturbing the peace in Ballupet in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district, residents have not dared to step out since Friday morning.

According to information reaching here, the male elephant made a silent entry into Ambedkar Nagar, Banavase and surrounding areas in the early hours. People who had just woken up, were shocked to see the jumbo moving freely in the area and decided to stay indoors.

Though the elephant did not do anyone harm, its presence in the area certainly created a scare. After grazing on the grass in the residential locality, the pachyderm has moved outside the village.

Forest department personnel have asked the residents to be careful and not to venture out after sunset. People vent their anger against the department and the government for their failure to solve the menace of wild elephants moving into human habitats. The movement of tuskers into coffee estates, villages and the plains have further created fear among people. Those who work in the coffee estates and fields have decided to stay home till the tusker leaves the place.

Hotspot Sakleshpur taluk has been identified as a hotspot of the wild elephant menace with herds of elephants frequently raiding human settlements in search of food. Villagers and workers in the coffee estates have been killed by pachyderms in the past. Despite relocation and radio collaring of the marauding jumbos, they continue to give sleepless nights to people of Sakleshpur taluk. Many relocated elephants have returned to their original terrain aggravating the problems of local residents.