No bus service, wild animals on the prowl: Here, kids risk lives in 12 km forest trek to school

Children walk 12 km through forest to their school in the absence of public transport which remains suspended since the recent floods

Schoolchildren in Khanapur taluk walk to school. (Photo | Ashishkrishna HP, EPS)

KHANAPUR (KARNATAKA): After floods, it is the fear of wild animals at Hemadga and surrounding villages of Khanapur taluk. With government-run bus services remaining suspended after the local road was damaged during the recent severe floods, schoolchildren have to walk 12 km to their school amid the fear of wild animals which are believed to have killed cattle in the area.

According to the villagers, more than 15 cattle heads have been killed by wild animals within a span of 45 days. However, the records of the forest department say that six cattle heads have been killed in and around Hemadga in the last one month. The villagers suspect the wild animal to be a “tiger”, whereas forest department officials say they are “leopards and not tigers”.

School children and other villagers protesting at Dongargaon Cross near Shiroli in Khanapur taluk seeking resumption of bus service. (Photo | Ashishkrishna HP, EPS)

Residents of Hemadga, Pali, Anmod and other surrounding areas have urged the NWKRTC to resume its bus services which had come to a halt after heavy rains washed away a portion of the main road recently. 

The Public Works Department (PWD) had repaired the road on a temporary basis. But the engineers of the transport corporation have declared the repaired road “unfit” due to which the bus services still remain suspended.

Speaking to the TNIE, Vijay Madar, a local villager and former gram panchayat president, said wild animals and the absence of public transport are haunting the locals. More than 100 children walk to their school at Shiroli which is about 12 km away as there is no bus service. And now the threat of wild animals is haunting them, making their parents anxious till they return home, he said. 

Praveen Patil and Narayan Tinekar of Hemadga claimed to have seen a tiger just near their village. They said it is “huge and scary”. However, Khanapur Assistant Conservator of Forests Shashidhar said the pug marks found near Hemadga were of the leopard which might have killed the cattle. He said he has already instructed officials to install camera traps at different locations around Hemadga village.

A combing operation has already been launched. Shashidhar said till the wild animal is identified and the problem is addressed, a vehicle of the forest department will pick up and drop the children of Hemadga to school and back.