MADIKERI: Crores spent on railway barricades to prevent elephants from crossing the forest areas into villages in South Kodagu is not yielding results. The elephants easily sneak through the barricades even as they regularly raid crops causing worries among the farmers and estate owners.
In 2020, Rs 9.20 crore was sanctioned to seal off the forest from Dubare to Baradi range with railway barricades. An 8.5 km stretch of the forest fringe crossing Maldare, Thyagathuru, Valnuru and Siddapura villages were sealed off to prevent the movement of wild elephants.
However, the elephants continue to roam in the area proving that barricades have failed to serve their purpose despite heavy spending of government funds.
The railway barricades have been installed in an unscientific manner as elephants have been spotted deftly outdoing the barricades to make their entry to the villages. While the barricades have been lined up in two rows to a height of about seven feet, the gap between the two rows allows elephants ample space to sneak through – especially the young adults.
“The barricades have been placed unscientifically. There are two rows of barricades placed and there is a huge gap between the two rows. Elephants are crossing the barricades smartly by going in between the two rows. Another set of barricades must be placed in between the two rows and only this will help reduce the elephant movement in the area,” shared grower Bhuvanendra.
Further, nearly every month, the forest department takes to the mission of chasing elephants away from estates back to the forests.
For instance, on Thursday, over eight wild elephants were chased from the village limits back to the forests. But the growers in the area complain that this chasing business is unscientific as the forest department officials burst crackers to chase the elephants. “The elephants get scared and go haywire. They run inside the estates and cause more damage to the crops,” shared Vasanth, another grower in the area. He added that after the elephants were chased away, they return to the estate in a day or two.
Responding to the complaints, Kushalnagar Range Forest Officer (RFO) Shivaram said, “We have installed the barricades as per the standard measurements. However, young elephants are crossing in between the barricades. We have alerted the higher officials and have requested to include the rectification work in the coming Annual Plan of Operations. A confirmation in this regard is awaited.”