‘Stop safaris if man-animal conflict cannot be curbed,’ Eshwar Khandre tells officials
Bengaluru: Just days after cutting down the number of safaris at Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves due to rising man-animal conflicts, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre recently warned that safaris could be suspended entirely if the situation does not improve.
Speaking at a coordination meeting with forest, revenue, and police officials at the Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat auditorium, the minister stressed that staff shortages cannot be used as an excuse for the rise in man-animal conflicts in districts hosting the reserve forests. “If there aren’t enough personnel to manage conflict-prone areas, then staff deployed for safari duties must be reassigned,” The Indian Express quoted Khandre as saying.
Highlighting the rise in elephant and tiger populations in the state, the minister noted that expanding forest areas was not feasible. He emphasised that ensuring adequate food sources for wildlife within existing habitats should be the priority.
Commenting on a recent tiger mauling in Saragur, Mysuru district, which claimed a man’s life, Khandre criticised the decision to send the body to Mysuru for a post-mortem instead of conducting it locally. He urged officials to handle such cases with sensitivity and efficiency, ensuring families receive the deceased’s body without unnecessary delay.
“No one should lose their life due to human-wildlife conflict. If such a tragedy occurs, the district administration, police, forest, and health departments must act responsibly and remain present until the funeral to maintain order,” he said.
To address the rising incidents of man-animal conflict, an action plan was announced at the meeting. The plan includes identifying conflict-prone areas and documenting the nature of the issues, deploying staff according to conflict severity, including drawing personnel from nearby ranges if necessary, increasing patrolling, equipping vehicles with GPS, and maintaining patrol registers in border villages, the report added.
The initiative also aims to strengthen community involvement. Officials will conduct regular visits to conflict-affected villages and designate youth and elders as ‘Forest Friends’ to assist in patrolling and wildlife operations. Measures include ensuring 24×7 availability of vehicles and staff in villages near wildlife corridors, as well as organising awareness programs and mock drills for villagers, youth, and children on responding to wildlife encounters.
Furthermore, coordination committees will be established at the district and taluk levels to ensure inter-departmental cooperation, with regular meetings to monitor progress and implement corrective measures.
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CM launches poster campaign 'Justice for Karnataka'
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday released nine posters as part of a campaign: ‘Justice for Karnataka. Fair Share–Strong Federalism’ asking the Centre to heed state's demands.
These posters highlight key demands placed before the Finance Commission: Restoring Karnataka’s fair tax share; correcting unjust income, population and GSDP criteria; ensuring fair disaster and ecological support; strengthening decentralisation; providing dedicated infrastructure support for Bengaluru; supporting backward regions like Kalyana Karnataka; and upholding the constitutional spirit of cooperative federalism, Siddaramaiah said.
In a statement, Siddaramaiah said his government has placed its legitimate and constitutionally grounded demands before the 16th Finance Commission, seeking justice in tax devolution and fiscal federalism.
“We hope that the 16th Finance Commission reflects these concerns fairly in its recommendations, and that the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi implements them in letter and spirit, without subjecting Karnataka to petty politics or discrimination, as has unfortunately happened in the past,” the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah underlined that Karnataka is among the country’s highest contributors to national revenues, yet its share in tax devolution was earlier reduced from 4.71 per cent to 3.64 per cent causing a loss of nearly Rs 80,000 crore.
"Flawed formulas that penalise development and population control, unrealistic GSDP calculations, inadequate disaster support, unchecked cesses and surcharges, denial of GST compensation, and non-release of recommended grants have collectively weakened the state’s finances," Siddaramaiah charged.
