Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle
In a major relief to elephant conservationists and the forest department, the Green Bench of Karnataka High Court on Wednesday halted the capture and relocation of 25-30 elephants from Alur Taluk of Hassan District. The Bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen, has also ordered the Central Government to seek advice from the African experts who could visit the village and give a fresh perspective on the entire human-elephant conflict in HassanDistrict. The decision also came as a big relief to the forest department as insiders revealed that they were under tremendous pressure from the Forest Minister C P Yogeshwar and local farmers. Mr Yogeshwar on Tuesday had declared that the forest department will capture all the 25-30 elephants from Hassan district and send them to training camps to tame the wild elephants.
Incidentally the acting Chief Justice indicated that so-called ‘elephant experts’ are not helping the court dispose of the matter. “They are not here for conservation. They are here for something else,” he said. The elephants in Algur at the backwaters of Hemavathi are restricted to 500 acres of forest. Majority of areas around this small patch have been encroached upon and there have been no efforts in the past to retrieve them. But the decision of the Green Bench has come as a blessing in disguise for the forest department, which can now think about consolidating the forest land by expanding or adding the revenue land to the existing forest patch.
“The relocation of elephants is a big challenge and in a majority of the cases the elephants will either return to the same forest or create havoc in some other area. Instead the forest department must now concentrate on creating a better habitat for those elephants which are dwelling in the conflict zone,” Suparna Ganguly, senior trustee with Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) organization.
An elephant is a contented animal. If you provide the required food and waterholes, even if you grow sugarcane the elephants will keep away. Manage forests and fauna which are suitable to elephants. I am happy with the HC direction,” said B R Deepak, Environmental Lawyer, High Court. Meanwhile an official from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, told DC that the two elephant experts from Africa - Cynphia Moss and Joys Pool – are expected to be invited to visit Hassan in the coming weeks.
In a major relief to elephant conservationists and the forest department, the Green Bench of Karnataka High Court on Wednesday halted the capture and relocation of 25-30 elephants from Alur Taluk of Hassan District. The Bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen, has also ordered the Central Government to seek advice from the African experts who could visit the village and give a fresh perspective on the entire human-elephant conflict in HassanDistrict. The decision also came as a big relief to the forest department as insiders revealed that they were under tremendous pressure from the Forest Minister C P Yogeshwar and local farmers. Mr Yogeshwar on Tuesday had declared that the forest department will capture all the 25-30 elephants from Hassan district and send them to training camps to tame the wild elephants.
Incidentally the acting Chief Justice indicated that so-called ‘elephant experts’ are not helping the court dispose of the matter. “They are not here for conservation. They are here for something else,” he said. The elephants in Algur at the backwaters of Hemavathi are restricted to 500 acres of forest. Majority of areas around this small patch have been encroached upon and there have been no efforts in the past to retrieve them. But the decision of the Green Bench has come as a blessing in disguise for the forest department, which can now think about consolidating the forest land by expanding or adding the revenue land to the existing forest patch.
“The relocation of elephants is a big challenge and in a majority of the cases the elephants will either return to the same forest or create havoc in some other area. Instead the forest department must now concentrate on creating a better habitat for those elephants which are dwelling in the conflict zone,” Suparna Ganguly, senior trustee with Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) organization.
An elephant is a contented animal. If you provide the required food and waterholes, even if you grow sugarcane the elephants will keep away. Manage forests and fauna which are suitable to elephants. I am happy with the HC direction,” said B R Deepak, Environmental Lawyer, High Court. Meanwhile an official from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, told DC that the two elephant experts from Africa - Cynphia Moss and Joys Pool – are expected to be invited to visit Hassan in the coming weeks.
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