Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has informed that Karnataka has established eight specialised elephant task forces across all major conflict zones to prevent human-elephant conflict. Led by the Deputy Conservator of Forests rank officer, these task forces have responded to over 1200 conflict incidents in the last year and succeeded in driving elephants back to the forest.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the inauguration of an international conference organised by the Forest Department to observe World Elephant Day in Bengaluru today. The Chief Minister informed that in the last 10 years, 2500 human-elephant conflict incidents led to 350 human fatalities and substantial crop losses in the state. Saying that Karnataka has the highest elephant population, numbering 6395, he said that with a significant elephant population comes the challenge of human-elephant conflict. He informed the international delegates at the conference that the Karnataka Aranya Samarasya Project in Karnataka ensures water availability, habitat improvement, and community participation to prevent human-elephant conflict zones.
