Karnataka Forest Minister says soft-release centre will be set up to address human-elephant conflict

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Saturday said that the State government had decided to set up a soft release centre to address the human-elephant conflict, and ₹53 crore had been released for the purpose.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Saturday said that the State government had decided to set up a soft release centre to address the human-elephant conflict, and ₹53 crore had been released for the purpose.

Participating in an interaction with local people on the conflict at Balehonnur in N.R. Pura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, he stated that the government was well aware of the conflict and was committed to addressing it.

A detailed project for setting up the soft release centre was being prepared by officers. Once the centre was set up, the department would capture the trouble-causing wild elephants and shift them to the centre.

The department had proposed to set up the centre in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. As per the proposed plan, the trouble-causing elephants would be captured and would be released into the wild in a phased manner. They would be kept in an enclosure spread over 20 sq km for a few months before releasing them into the wild.

The interaction with the Minister was organised in the wake of two deaths caused by elephant attacks in Chikkamagaluru recently.

Mr. Khandre said that there had been around 65 to 70 deaths a year due to wild animals in the State. The government had been taking measures to avoid the conflict.