Farmers living close to the border of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary are living in trepidation as nearly 50 elephants have come together at the Kanakapura Sangam area.
Over the past month, the number of elephants in the area have shot up with vegetable fields and small agricultural ponds serving are their source of food and water in the time of drought. Crop-raiding has increased, and on Thursday, farmers confronted forest officials about the situation.
Of the 50 elephants, over 25 of them are believed to have migrated from Hosur-Satyamangala forests in search of water, said officials. “With the monsoons failing, we have found elephants coming to the area in small groups. Since November, however, their number has drastically risen, and they have damaged fields, fences, and borewells,” said K. Shivaram, Range Forest Officer, Sangam range.
Over 20 forest personnel have been posted right through the night at Duntooru and Nayakahalli — which borders the northern fringes of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary — to burst crackers so that the elephants return to the forests. Last month, a 50-year-old forest guard was trampled to death during one such operation.
However, despite an ‘elephant-proof trench’ in the area, the border remains porous. Officials said the trench had been breached in places by farmers themselves to graze cattle or sheep, or have collapsed due to lack of maintenance. Fences electrified by solar power have largely failed as forest personnel find the panels having been pilfered by locals.
Artificial ponds
However, the department is hoping that artificial ponds could alleviate the problem. Each pond can retain water for around two weeks.
“Using borewells and a borrowed diesel generator, we created a pond and filled it with water near the forest. This seems to have helped. So, we have sent a proposal to create around 20 ponds, which can divert the elephants away from fields,” said Mr. Shivaram.
