Wild elephants were spotted in three different locations of Hassan district including coffee estates near Sakleshpur town on Friday, forcing Forest Department officials to launch a drive to send them back to the forests.
A herd of 24 elephants was spotted near Sakleshpur town. The elephants were seen in the coffee estates roughly about 500-800 m away from Sakleshpur bus stand. Two tuskers were spotted at Kyatanahalli about 18 km away from Hassan town. Similarly, three elephants were spotted at Sosalakere near Nuggehalli in Channarayapatna taluk.
“Today has been a busy day for our officers,” M.L. Manjunath, Deputy Conservator of Forests in Hassan, told The Hindu on Friday. The wild elephants were spotted in three locations on a day and all officers were on the field busy driving them back to forests. The herd of 24 elephants was spotted about 2.5 km away from Sakleshpur town on Thursday. “Now the herd has moved close to Sakleshpur town. The elephants are just a stone’s throw away from the bus stand,” he said.
The two tuskers spotted at Kyatanahalli, which were spotted near Belur a couple of days ago, had moved to Bailahalli and Kyatanahalli near Hassan. Officials have camped in the place to drive them back to forests. “These two tuskers entered Belur from Chikkamagaluru. We are making all efforts to avoid the animals’ entry into human habitats,” the officer said.
Farmers of the district have been demanding a permanent solution to the man-elephant conflict by relocating all elephants in Alur and Sakleshpur taluks.
