3-day operation planned to drive elephants out of Virajpet plantations

Madikeri: Deputy conservator of forests (Virajpet division) Taseen Banu said the forest department will soon conduct a three-day operation to drive wild elephants back into the forest, as herds have been entering coffee plantations in Byrambada and Kannangala gram panchayat areas of Virajpet taluk and destroying crops.

Speaking at a human-wildlife conflict mitigation workshop in Byrambada, she said elephants have been present in Kodagu since the British era and their numbers have increased. To reduce elephant incursions, the govt has installed about 27 km of solar fencing in Virajpet taluk. She stated that around 80% of the fence is functioning, while about 20% is operating at a low level, allowing elephants to enter through weak stretches.

She said elephants have been camping in the Devara Kadu (sacred grove) area and repeatedly entering plantations. The department plans to protect Devara Kadu and install additional solar fencing around it to prevent elephants from settling there. She added that drones are being used to track elephant movement and that a new mitigation plan using AI cameras and sound-based deterrents have been implemented in Thithimathi forest area.

She said Rs 4.8 crore has been disbursed in Virajpet taluk towards crop loss and compensation related to human deaths in elephant attacks. Village groups have been formed to share alerts and warnings about elephant movement, and residents were urged to monitor these and cooperate.

Local representatives and villagers demanded a permanent solution, including continuous public alerts via loudspeakers, fencing and surveying encroached Devara Kadu forest land, improving fodder and water availability inside forests by creating waterbodies, and ensuring elephants are driven back rather than moved between plantations.

Meanwhile, Kushalnagar range forest officer R Rakshit said an elephant-driving operation will be taken up in Andagove village (Athur branch, Kushalnagar range) on Sunday and asked plantation owners, workers, schoolchildren and the public to remain vigilant.