The coffee planters of Hassan have urged the State government to stop development projects in Malnad region that could intensify the man-elephant conflict further and take up concrete measures to end the elephant menace.
Former chairman of Malenad Area Development Board Hemmige Mohan, former member of Coffee Board B.A. Jagannath, Hassan District Planters Association president T.C. Anantha Subbarao, and environmentalist H.A. Kishor Kumar addressed a press conference in Hassan on Friday.
Even after translocating 22 elephants in 2013, the number had gone beyond 60 in the recent years in parts of Alur and Sakaeshpur taluks. Farmers had been losing their crops and many have died in the elephant attacks. The projects implemented in the name of development in the Western Ghats had contributed to the elephant menace over the years. The government should stop such works in future, they said.
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Stating that the ex-gratia provided for the victims of elephant attack was insufficient the planters demanded the government revise the amount. The crop loss compensation should be scientific, they said.
The rapid response teams (RRT) working at present were insufficient, given the area affected by elephants. The number of teams should be increased three times so that the residents would get timely support to avoid encountering elephants, they said.
Further, the planters urged the government to radio-collar at least 85% of elephants in the area so that their movement could be tracked. They also demanded the government provide a 90% subsidy for solar fencing.
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