Two wild elephants electrocuted in Belgaum district

Two wild elephants were electrocuted under mysterious circumstances in villages in Nagaragali forest range in Khanapur taluk in Belagavi district on Sunday.

Forest officials suspect that they might have come in contact with electric wires illegally laid by farmers who were upset at the wild animals raiding their crops.

The carcasses of the pachyderms were found near sugarcane and paddy fields.

A forest officer, who visited the spot, said that some farmers had hooked wires to Hescam power lines and threw the wires on the ground. “It seems the wild animals walking by these areas tread on them and were electrocuted. An inquiry will reveal the reasons behind this,” the official said.

Wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni has demanded action against the persons responsible for the unfortunate incident. “It is unfortunate that such incidents have occurred even after Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre issued written instructions to conduct an investigation into the unnatural deaths of elephants due to electrocution, to take appropriate action against those responsible, and to hold meetings with local residents to foster better relations. Disciplinary action must be taken against the officials who have shown negligence,’’ he said.

He argued that there were news reports of wild elephants being seen on the villages on the borders of forests in Khanapur for nearly 10 days now.

“Neither the forest officials nor the Hescom officials took notice. There is a standard protocol that whenever such sightings are recorded, the forest officials and Hescom officials should hold a meeting of villagers and inform them that power supply will be cut off in those areas. There are standard procedures for protecting crops from such animals. But this was not done. It seems some farmers have plugged power from power lines and electrocuted the wild animals,’’ he said.