Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey briefed the Rajya Sabha on the escalating human-elephant conflict in Karnataka. According to the minister’s statement, the state witnessed a significant increase in human casualties due to elephant attacks during the year 2022-23, with 29 deaths reported. This figure marks a notable increase from the 83 deaths recorded between 2019-20 and 2021-22, indicating a worrying trend of increasing deaths in such incidents.
Human-elephant conflict in Karnataka
The district data presented by the Minister describe the localities most affected by this conflict. Chamarajanagar district reported the highest number of human casualties in 2022-23, with seven lives lost. Other affected districts included Kodagu, with five deaths, and Bannerugatta National Park, which reported four human deaths.
In response to an unstarred question posed by Shri Narayana Koragappa in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister detailed the steps taken by the Karnataka Government to address this pressing issue. The state has formed district elephant task forces to address human-elephant conflict in specific regions, including Hassan, Chikmangaluru, Mysuru, Kodagu, Bengaluru, Ramnagar and Chamarajanagar districts. These task forces operate control rooms 24/7 to monitor and respond to conflict situations.
The use of modern technology has also been employed in conflict management. Elephants known to cause harm are being fitted with radio collars, allowing their movements to be monitored in real time and alerting local communities to potential risks.
Wild elephant attacks-list wise data
| S.No. | District | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru Rural | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Ramnagara | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Kolar | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Bannerugatta NP | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Mysore | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Hassan | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | Tumkur | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Chamarajanagar | 9 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | Chikkamagalore | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | Kodagu | 5 | 8 | 12 | 5 |
| 11 | Mangalore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Shivamogga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | – | 30 | 26 | 27 | 29 |
Furthermore, the state has taken a unique approach to prevent the movement of elephants towards human dwellings by building railway barricades using scraped rails. These barricades have proven effective in minimizing elephant incursions into populated areas.
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