Karnataka government forms elephant task force in four districts
Bengaluru, Nov 21: The Karnataka government on Monday decided to set up an elephant task force in four districts to keep a check on jumbo menace.
An order to this effect was issued soon after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, an official statement said.
The task force, headed by Deputy Conservator of Forests, will be set up in Hassan, Chikmagaluru, Mysuru and Kodagu districts, where the problem is more widespread.
The task force will get down to action immediately and work under the instructions of the respective Chief Conservator of Forests of the circles concerned.
The members of the panel have been directed to patrol the jumbo-concentrated areas, monitor their movements in human habitation, agriculture fields and coffee estates, and drive them back into forests under the direction of deputy conservator of forests.
The task force members will be armed with walkie-talkies, guns and crackers that are necessary to drive back the wild elephants into forests. Each district elephant task force will be given three jeeps.
They should also share information about the movement of wild elephants and create awareness among the people not to move in the forest areas.
It has also been decided to set up a control room in the headquarters of every task force and that the phone number will be shared with the citizens.
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Anurag Thakur, Priyanka Gandhi, P P Chaudhary among LS MPs on parliament panel on simultaneous polls
New Delhi, Dec 18: Former Union ministers Anurag Thakur and P P Chaudhary from the BJP, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress are set to be among the 21 Lok Sabha members, who will be part of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise two bills on simultaneous elections.
The Lok Sabha's list of business for Thursday included the names of 21 MPs to be part of the committee, a motion on whose constitution will be moved by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Former Union minister Parshottambhai Rupala, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Anil Baluni, C M Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Vishnu Dayal Ram and Sambit Patra are among the BJP's Lok Sabha members to be part of the panel.
Chaudhary, a former minister of state for law, is seen as the likely chairperson of the committee, sources said, adding that Thakur is also a contender.
Speaker Om Birla will take the final call according to the rules.
Manish Tewari and Sukhdeo Bhagat of the Congress, Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena, Dharmendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Kalyan Banerjee of the TMC, T M Selvaganapathi of the DMK, G M Harish Balayogi of the TDP, Supriya Sule of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), Chandan Chauhan of the RLD and Balashowry Vallabhaneni of the Jana Sena Party are other Lok Sabha members.
Rajya Sabha will name its 10 members for the committee in a separate communication.
Among the Lok Sabha members proposed to be on the committee, 14 are from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, including 10 from the BJP.
