Several wild elephant attacks reported in Kodagu; plantations, vehicles damaged
Madikeri: Amid heavy rains, elephant attacks have been reported across several parts of the district, affecting daily lives of the people here. Elephants are reportedly entering the rural areas in herds and damaging plantations and vehicles.
The herd of tuskers are roaming across the forest and plantations in search of food. People have reported incidents where Elephants suddenly appear on main roads attacking vehicles. Devayya, a resident of Naladi village, whose auto rickshaw was parked near his house was mangled during the tusker movement at night.
In Cheyandane village, plantations of Harish and Sajan were damaged, the tusker herd reportedly destroyed coffee, coconut and betel nut plantations. According to locals, deforestation took place at a larger scale in the Cheyandane area.
In another such incident, the herd entered the banana plantations of Raghukumar of Attur Village in Suntikoppa, destroying the whole crop. The herd which had come in search of food completely razed the banana plantation.
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Locals claimed that despite efforts from the forest department, elephants continue to destroy plantations. Elephants which disappear during the day reappear in the plantations during the night. Locals have also reported elephant sightings on the Suntikoppa, Anekadu, and Kushalnagar highways, forcing motorists to proceed with caution.
Meanwhile, Farmers have expressed concern that if the government does not implement a permanent plan to prevent elephant attacks, the agriculture sector in the district may suffer a significant blow. Additionally, they have also demanded that the forest minister and forest officials not just hold meetings but initiate action and understand the seriousness of the problem.
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West Bengal Guv authorises Assembly deputy speaker to supervise swearing in of 2 TMC MLAs on Friday
Kolkata, Jul 4: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has authorised Deputy Speaker to oversee the swearing in of the two newly elected TMC MLAs in the Assembly on Friday, a senior Raj Bhavan official said.
"The Governor has authorised the Deputy Speaker Ashish Banerjee to conduct the swearing in ceremony at the Assembly tomorrow," the official told PTI on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Biman Banerjee summoned a special session of the Assembly starting from 2 pm on Friday, emphasising that the functioning of the House does not solely depend on the Governor.
Previously, the Speaker had sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu to resolve the oath-taking issue and accused the Governor of turning it into an ego battle.
The two MLAs — Rayat Hossain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee — were elected in the bypolls held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections but declined to take oath at the Raj Bhavan.
They argued that convention dictates the Governor should assign either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly to administer the oath in case of bypoll winners.
Last Wednesday, the Governor had invited them to take the oath at Raj Bhavan, which they declined citing procedural norms.
