Karnataka to build another 300 kms of railway barricades to prevent man-elephant conflict
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday said the government plans to construct an additional 300 kms of railway barricades at a cost of Rs 500 crore in the forest areas of the state, to address the human-elephant conflict.
Replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Harish Poonja during the Question Hour, the Minister indicated that it may take 2 years to complete the work.
"Along with protecting wildlife, preventing human-wildlife conflict is important. There are elephants outside the forests, in coffee estates. There is no difference between forests and coffee estates for elephants. About 214 elephants are outside forests in Kodagu, 60-70 in Hassan. This is leading to loss of lives," Khandre said.
He noted that the government has already installed 3,807 km of tentacle fencing and 2,711 km of elephant trench.
Apart from this, the Minister said, "Before the Congress government came to power, only 300 km of railway barricades was constructed, now 428 km has been completed. Rs 150 crore additional allocation has been made for 103 km, which has been approved." "There is a demand for another 300 kms for places like Mangaluru region. Wherever railway barricading is necessary, I have asked officials to prepare a list. It will take 2 years for barricading and it will cost Rs 500 crore. The Chief Minister has assured it (amount)," he added.
Khandre attributed the rising man-animal conflict to forest degradation and rapid urbanisation. He also said the implementation of Wildlife Protection Act has led to an increase in animal population.
Citing the 2022 census, the Minister highlighted that Karnataka has the highest number of elephants in the country at 6,395, a number that is likely even higher now. The state also has the second-highest tiger population, with 563.
"There are thousands of leopards," he said and emphasised that developmental works like national highways, electricity connections contribute to the problem by causing fragmentation of elephant corridors.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
