BENGALURU: A resident of Ragihalli village on the outskirts of Bannerghatta National Park was seriously injured after being attacked by an elephant at 6.30 am on Saturday. The incident occurred at Sevanayakandoddi village.
The injured villager, Ravi Naik, was taken to Sparsh Hospital in Bengaluru where he was operated upon. Bannerghatta National Park DFO Prashanth said, “Naik suffered serious injuries. His condition is stable now. For his treatment, Rs 3 lakh has been released. Further compensation will be given.”
According to forest officials, elephants freely roam around this area in search of food and usually destroy crops. Meanwhile, Ragihalli residents allege that elephants frequently enter the villages in the area and destroy crops. “We remain very careful ... usually we try to avoid the routes taken by these animals. But the crop raids have increased in recent times with a decrease in noise and dust from quarrying companies after they were closed down. We are not sure how this person was attacked,” said Seena, a resident.
Activists also tend to agree that movement of the elephants in the area has picked up after the mining firms were shut. “There should be an ESZ of 10 km for Bannerghatta. These days, pachyderms can be seen regularly ... undisturbed by the noise and pollution of mining and quarrying. They usually come either in the morning or late evening in search of water and food as the season is dry and many water-holes have dried up. With many villages abounding the national park and the corridor area, it is not surprising that elephants are found near human settlements.”