Tusker involved in trampling two men to death captured in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru
Chikkamagaluru (PTI): After a nearly 17-hour operation, the Karnataka Forest Department managed to safely immobilise and capture a 40-year-old tusker that trampled two people to death in this district, officials said on Monday.
Umesh (43) and Harish (42) in Kerekatte range of the Kudremukh wildlife division here were killed on October 31, they said.
Both of them lived on the periphery of Kudremukh National Park and had gone to the forest to collect leaves for cowshed when the elephant attacked them, resulting in their deaths, officials said.
According to the forest department, on Sunday morning, five trained elephants and around 150 officials involved in the operation captured the tusker which was spotted near the Bhagavathi Nature Camp in this district, following which veterinarians fired a tranquiliser dart.
"Acting on authorisation from the Chief Wildlife Warden, the Karnataka Forest Department concluded a 17-hour operation to safely immobilise and capture the "Mallandur" (wild) tusker near Bhagavathi Nature Camp in Kudremukh National Park," a senior department official said.
No personnel or public were injured in the operation, he said.
"The tranquilised tusker is stated to be stable and is currently at Dodda Harave elephant camp, where it is kept under observation," he said.
Explaining the operation, the officer said it began at first light under a minimal-chase, welfare-first protocol. Trained ground trackers, veterinarians, and kumki elephants worked in coordinated sectors while thermal-imaging drones provided real-time situational awareness and helped maintain public safety.
"At 4.45 pm, the veterinary team successfully darted the tusker. The animal was stabilised on site, continuously monitored, and moved along a pre-vetted, terrain-safe egress using reinforced extraction equipment," he added.
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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.
