A herd of wild elephants has been destroying standing crops at Dodderi and Attigunda Gram Panchayat limits in Bhadravati taluk for the last five days.
Krishnappa, a resident of Dodderi village, told The Hindu that four elephants had raided agricultural fields on the fringes of Bisilumane range forest at night. On Friday night, they destroyed 30 coconut trees belonging to Mr. Krishnappa and 40 banana trees in a plantation belonging to Chandrashekhar. The elephants have also damaged standing crops near Balekatte, Gangur, Srinivasapura, and Belligere villages. Irrigation pipes in the plantation owned by Narayanappa in Basalikatte village have been damaged by these elephants. Arecanut crop on more than three acres of land has also been ravaged.
The Forest Department officials combed the forest area here on Thursday and Friday, but could not trace the elephants.
Elephant-proof trench
Mohan Kumar, Range Forest Officer, said that as the elephant movement has been reported in these villages from the past four years, the department would take up work of digging elephant-proof trench here to avoid their entry into fields. Compensation would be paid as per the existing norms to farmers who have suffered crop loss, he added.
