MADIKERI : Coffee growers are in a precarious situation during the picking season with tigers prowling in the village limits of South Kodagu. The sector is already battling with labour shortage during the picking season, which has been worsened by tiger menace as labourers refuse to work in these areas, endangering their lives. The fear of tigers continue to haunt South Kodagu residents, leaving the estate owners worried. “We are already facing labour shortage and tigers prowling in the estates and forest fringes are mounting our problems.
Also, we cannot risk the lives of labourers and we must be cautious for coffee picking work,” explained Harish, a grower in South Kodagu. Recalling that a labourer was killed last year during the pepper picking work, he said, “We will have to accompany the labourers with guns to avoid any untoward incident. Even while taking a stroll in the estates, we take weapons for self-defence.” At the second Rudraguppe village in South Kodagu, three calves were killed by a tiger.
The incident was reported close to the residence of A Dhanu, the owner of the calves. Last week, an injured male tiger was rescued from a close human habitat at Maldare village that is approximately 36km from Rudraguppe village.
The villages close to the Nagarahole forest fringes are facing growing movements of tigers and there has been no solution to the situation despite the capture and rescue of the tigers. When a tiger is captured, the conflict territory is occupied by new tigers that often finds easy prey in cattle owned by farmers. Forest Department officials of Ponnampet division have placed five camera traps across the conflict zone in Rudraguppe village spot the tigers, and study their movements.