Bandipur National Park to Get Elephant Task Force - Rail Barricading Prioritised
Bandipur National Park, housing over 1100 elephants based on the most recent estimate, is poised to receive a dedicated task force to manage conflict scenarios. In the State Budget for 2024-25, ₹10 crore has been allocated to establish this task force, along with an additional ₹40 crore to reinforce the seven existing elephant task forces and two leopard task forces in various locations across Karnataka.
Expressing approval of the decision, Ramesh Kumar, the director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve , highlighted conflict hotspots in Hediyala, Omkara, and Moleyuru. Bandipur, with the highest elephant population in the state and a dense human population on the park's outskirts, experiences elevated conflict levels. Ramesh Kumar noted that Minister for Forests Ecology and Environment Eshwar B. Khandre was briefed on this necessity recently.
Upon the establishment of the task force, a specialized team will be ready to handle conflict situations, monitor elephant presence and movement, guide herds back to the forests if they stray into human areas, and address concerns related to crop damage as well as human injuries or fatalities.
Ramesh Kumar emphasized the necessity of the task force, citing nearly 3500 conflict cases in Bandipur during 2023-24, involving crop damage and some human fatalities. Compensation totaling over ₹2.5 crore has been disbursed as a result. The Budget acknowledged the growing human-animal conflict and the need to prioritize both protecting human life and conserving wildlife. It emphasized giving priority to the construction of railway barricades along forest boundaries in conflict-prone areas.
Reflecting on the previous Budget, which allocated Rs. 100 crores for rail barricading, with approximately 78 km already constructed, the current Budget does not specifically allocate funds for this purpose. However, it states that priority will continue to be given to constructing railway barricades in the current fiscal year.
