Farmer dies in tiger attack in Mysuru district, safaris suspended in Nagarahole, Bandipur
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Bengaluru (PTI): A farmer was killed in a tiger attack in Mysuru district on Friday, prompting Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre to order the suspension of safari operations in Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves, and to halt trekking activities in areas prone to human-wildlife conflict with immediate effect.
He also directed that forest staff in safari operations be deployed for the ongoing operation to capture the big cat.
Chowdayya Nayak (35) was attacked and killed at Hale Heggudilu village in Saragur taluk of Mysuru district, officials said. This is the third such death in the region in the last one month, they added.
In a written instruction to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Khandre expressed grief over the deaths and ordered immediate suspension of safari services in both reserves until further notice.
Khandre said the loss of three human lives due to tiger attacks along the Bandipur - Nagarahole forest belt in Mysuru and Chamarajanagara districts within the last month was "deeply distressing".
According to a statement from the minister's office, following previous attacks, review meetings were held in Bandipur on October 27 and in Chamarajanagara on November 2 in the presence of district in-charge ministers and local MLAs.
"Discussions were held with farmers and local residents, and warnings were issued that safaris may be suspended if necessary. However, another tragic incident has occurred, causing shock," Khandre said.
He has now issued clear orders to halt safari operations in Nagarahole and Bandipur, and to suspend trekking in areas prone to human-wildlife conflict. Additionally, all officials, vehicle drivers and staff currently assigned to safari duties are to be deployed for the tiger capture operation, it stated.
The Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and the Director of Project Tiger have also been instructed to camp on site and take necessary steps to capture the tiger, the statement added.
Following the incident, BJP State President B Y Vijayendra slammed the government alleging that the ruling party in the state was mired in internal squabbles and completely sidelining farmers.
"The invaluable lives of farmers on the forest fringes of the state are being sacrificed one after another to wild animal attacks - this news is an utterly terrifying development. The government's conduct, treating the lives of our food providers as worthless, represents the extreme height of callousness," he said.
Today's incident of farmer falling victim to a tiger attack is nothing short of the divine negligence of the state government and forest department officials, he said.
"The forest department's irresponsible failure to implement measures that must be followed to prevent human-wildlife conflict is precisely what has caused the recurrence of tiger attacks," he said, in a post on 'X'. Vijayendra urged the government to take steps to save these invaluable human lives.
"If it fails to create a safe environment for the forest-fringe farmers who live with death in their hands, the government should prepare to face the people's outrage," he added.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
