A jumbo problem in Karnataka’s Hassan district Premium

The villagers of Sakleshpur, Alur and Belur taluks in Hassan district live in constant fear of coming face to face with elephant herds on their way to fields, school or the grocery store. Sathish G.T. reports on a conflict that has proved deadly for both the people and the animals, and the desperation for a long-term solution

On November 1 last year, as Madhu H.M., a coffee grower at Hebbanahalli in Sakleshpur taluk, was getting ready to leave for his farm, his nephew came running to him with an urgent message. “Avoid the regular route to the farm,” the 17-year-old warned his uncle. “A herd of elephants has been spotted there.”

The Sakleshpur, Alur and Belur taluks of Hassan district lie in the lush foothills of the Western Ghats in Karnataka. Villagers in these taluks receive alerts on their mobile phones every morning from the Forest Department about the movement of elephants in the area. Sometimes, members of the Rapid Response Teams of the Forest Department make public announcements about the elephants. These alerts are essential in helping the villagers plan their activities for the day and are often a matter of life and death.

While Madhu was getting ready that day, his younger brother Manu, 34, left home. “Every Tuesday, Manu would visit the Chamundeshwari temple close to our field. He left home by 8 a.m. that day. On the way, he was fatally attacked by an elephant,” says Madhu.

Manu, who is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son, is among the 93 people who have been killed in elephant attacks in the three taluks of Hassan since 1986. In 2022 alone, seven people succumbed to such attacks. Among those who face angry elephants are coffee planters, farmers, plantation workers and schoolchildren.

There have also been hundreds of instances of people getting injured in these encounters since the 1980s. Nearly every household in the district has an elephant experience to share. At Hasugavalli near Ballupete in Sakleshpur taluk, people recall an attack on an encampment of huts on January 23, 2023. Luckily, they escaped.

Apart from posing a threat to their lives, elephants raid and damage crops daily, the villagers complain. As a consequence, the people are forced to stay vigilant at all times. During annual board exams, when students have to travel long distances to reach the exam centres, police and forest officials deploy special vehicles and staff to pick them up and drop them. Elephant task force vehicles equipped with public announcement systems are a common sight in these regions.

There are more than 65 pachyderms in the Sakleshpur, Yeslur, Belur and Alur forest ranges of Hassan district. Local people believe that there are more than 100 elephants, but the Forest Department does not acknowledge this number. Besides the three-four herds that are active at different locations, a few tuskers roam around alone too. For the villagers and the animals, every day is a struggle to co-exist.