Karnataka: Woman Dies In Elephant Attack In Hassan District; Forest Minister Directs To Set Up Dedicated Task Force
This is the fourth such incident in two months. Forest officials have set up teams to track down the attacking tuskers.
Published : March 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM IST
Hassan/Bengaluru: After a woman died in a wild elephant attack in Bommanahalli in the Belur tehsil of Hassan district on Friday, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has instructed to identify and capture three elephants that are causing trouble to people. Khandre has also instructed to immediately establish an elephant task force office in the same area and depute an officer of the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests.
Three wild elephants are causing trouble to people around Bikkodu and Arehalli in Belur tehsil. In the wake of the death of a woman in a wild elephant attack, Khandre held an emergency meeting with forest officials at his office on Saturday.
Two drones with thermal cameras should be purchased for the Hassan zone, and the movement of elephants should be monitored even at night. The locals should be informed on time, the minister instructed the officials.
Khandre directed that two additional jeeps and more personnel be deployed as emergency response vehicles in the areas where elephants are a problem and that they be immediately alerted to the movement of elephants.
Training for plantation staff: Khandre directed that public meetings be held at the village level to create awareness among the people of Belur area and plantation workers about the nature of elephants, precautions to be taken when elephants arrive and the precautions to be taken while walking in the morning and evening, etc., with the cooperation of plantation owners.
Necessary facilities for ETF staff: Forest Minister also directed that monthly salaries be provided to the elephant task force and ADC outsourced staff, food allowance, uniform, shoes, jackets and insurance facilities be provided to the elephant task force staff, and walkie-talkies be provided to it in areas where mobile signal is not available.
Additional Chief Secretary Anjum Parvez, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Forest Force Chief Meenakshi Negi, Chief Wildlife Warden Subhash Malkade and senior officials were present for the meeting.
Incident details: A 63-year-old woman named Sushilamma died in a wild elephant attack in Belur tehsil. The incident took place on Friday in the Bommanahalli village. This is the fourth incident in the district in the last two months.
She was attacked and killed by a wild tuskar while she was working in a coffee plantation. The villagers had protested by blocking the Cheekanahalli-Belur road, condemning the woman's death. They had expressed their anger that the government was not controlling the wild elephant menace. They demanded that the Forest Minister arrive at the spot and insisted that they would not allow the body to be taken away until the Forest Minister arrived. As a tense atmosphere had developed in the area, the police had taken strict security measures until night as a precautionary measure.
Wild elephant death: On the other hand, the suspicious death of a wild elephant came to light on Saturday in the Nelaballi village of Arakalgud taluk in Hassan. The body of a male elephant, about 25 years old, was found in a farmer's field. According to preliminary information, it is suspected that it died due to an electric shock or gunshot, officials said.
Local farmers found the elephant's body when they went to their field in the morning and informed the forest department officials. The forest department's Emergency Response Team (ETF) rushed to the spot and conducted an investigation. The police also visited the spot and conducted an investigation, and the exact cause of the elephant's death will be known after the post-mortem.
