MADIKERI: "Camera traps have caught the tiger’s movements, villagers have spotted the prowling tiger, on average one cow is killed every two days by the tiger, but the forest department has not spotted the elusive tiger. How is this possible?" questioned K Manu Somaiah, the Kodagu district president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. He was addressing a massive protest-gathering hosted at Thimmaiah Circle in Madikeri on Monday.
Hundreds of farmers supported by various other organizations hosted a massive protest condemning the inefficient tiger capture operation carried out by the forest department in South Kodagu. The protesters questioned why the mission has prolonged for 25 days without any clue of the elusive tiger that has claimed the lives of three people.
“The fight of us farmers is not politically inclined. There are so many laws that protect the tiger, which is our national animal. However, this tiger has claimed three human lives so far even as one other injured person is in critical condition; he is paralysed and is unable to open his eyes voluntarily,” explained Manu.
Hitting out at the forest department, he said the 150-odd staff are inefficient in carrying out the tiger capture mission. “PCCF Vijaykumar Gogi had held a meeting with us farmers and assured that the department has complete power to eliminate the tiger, if needed. However, the mission has been stagnant since 25 days. Crores of taxpayers' money is being spent on the mission that is not bearing any positive result,” he alleged. He also spoke against the state forest minister Aravin Limbavali and Kodagu MP Prathap Simha for not responding to the sufferings of the villagers of Kodagu.
The protesters demanded immediate culling of the elusive tiger alongside capturing of nine to ten other tigers that are prowling across South Kodagu. The protest was supported by various organizations including Codava National Council, United Kodava Organization, Youth Kodava Samaj, Malayali Committee and Jamat-E-Islam among others. The protesters demanded a permanent solution to the increasing human-animal conflict across the district and demanded additional funds to establish conflict mitigation projects.
The protesters then marched towards DC Office and submitted a memorandum to DC Charulata Somal demanding respite from the wildlife conflict. The DC said that regular updates of the operation are being forwarded to the state and the operation will be delayed following increased human interference. Meanwhile, the farmers alleged that the DC has not visited the spot despite severe protests and loss of life. Charulata, however, assured she would visit the spot on Thursday and get a first hand report.