Environment Minister directs officials to explore Tamil Nadu model for controlling elephant menace

Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed Forest Department officials to study the Tamil Nadu model for controlling the wild elephant menace in Karnataka.

Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed Forest Department officials to study the Tamil Nadu model for controlling the wild elephant menace in Karnataka.

Karnataka has the highest elephant population in the country and there have been many incidents of elephant attacks on human beings and of jumbos raiding agricultural fields in many parts of the State. To control this menace railway barricades have been installed.

However, Mr. Khandre said that the installation of the barricades is expensive and there is a limitation in procuring sufficient railway tracks for this purpose.

To address this issue, Mr. Khandre has directed officials to study alternative measures and submit a report.

“Currently, the proven solution to mitigate the elephant menace is the installation of railway barricades, which costs approximately ₹1.5 crore per kilometre. However, there is a limitation in procuring sufficient railway tracks for this purpose. In Tamil Nadu, steel rope fences have been installed as a barrier, costing ₹45 lakh per kilometre. I have instructed officials to examine this method and submit a report within 10 days,” Mr. Khandre said.

So far, 312 kilometres of railway barricades have been installed in Karnataka. The Minister has also asked officials to submit a comparative report on the loss of life and crops before and after the installation of these barricades.