Forest Minister visits the house of Venkatesh, who died in an elephant attack; Rs 25 lakh compensation announced

Hassan: Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has announced that a special compensation of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the family of sharpshooter HH Venkatesh who died due to injuries in the elephant attack in Hoskote, Halliyur of Alur Taluk, Hassan district during an elephant operation on behalf of the foundation.

The minister, who visited Venkatesh's house in Honnavalli on Wednesday, condoled the deceased Venkatesh's wife GS Manjula and sons Mohit and Mithun and family members. Venkatesh was popularly known as Ane Venkatesh for his amazing work. The death of sharp shooter Venkatesh is an irreparable loss to the forest department.

He said that as soon as he came to know about the incident on the afternoon of August 31, he spoke to the concerned forest officers and instructed them to immediately admit Venkatesh to the hospital and to inform the doctors of the hospital to make every effort to save his life. Minister Khandre said that everyone's life is precious and it is very sad that there is death and suffering due to wildlife and human conflict.

The Minister replied to a question asked by the media that they were negligent when Venkatesh participated in the elephant operation. The forest department is also investigating this. He assured that action will be taken if negligence is proved.

The forest area is less for the residents here. There are also illegal sanctions. Stone mining activity is going on at the edge of the forest. It is said that the elephants are getting distracted by the sound of explosives used to blast the rock. In this context, he said that he will call a meeting to consult with the representatives of the elephant problem districts including Kodagu, Hassan, Mysore, Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural to find a permanent solution to prevent crop damage and loss of life due to elephant attacks.

The government has taken steps to build an elephant barricade to prevent elephants from entering inhabited zone. But the availability of railway tracks is also less. In this backdrop, 312 km of railway barricade has been installed and another 300 km of railway barricade needs to be constructed, he said. Similarly, radio collars are being fitted to elephants. Elephant ditch is being constructed. In addition, a solar electric wire fence is being installed, he said.

Responding to the question asked about the implementation of the Kasturi Rangan report, the minister said that the central government has constituted a Sanjay Kumar Committee and is reviewing the report. The Kasturi Rangan report is 11 years old. He said that when the Sanjay Kumar Committee visited him, he spoke to all the stakeholders of the Western Ghat region and asked them to submit a report after consultation with the environmentalists.