The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the state and Central governments to submit by December 9, 2008 a comprehensive report on the spate of elephant deaths.
BANGALORE: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the state and Central governments to submit by December 9, 2008 a comprehensive report on the spate of elephant deaths in the Nagarahole-Bandipur belt, especially the alleged killing of four pachyderms in Nanjangud taluk of Chamarajanagar district on November 5 last.
Hearing a suo motu public interest litigation, a division bench comprising Chief Justice P D Dinakran and Justice V G Sabahit said: "It is most unfortunate and inhuman. We should be ashamed of ourselves. We are the most cruel animals.''
Nine elephants have died in a span of seven days and the number is 25 for the last six months but the authorities are still clueless over the reason for the deaths.
A government advocate said, "According to preliminary inquiries the elephants died after consuming poison. Farmers use cyanide to deter elephants from entering their fields and eating the standing crops. The cyanide is mixed into ragi balls which kill the pachyderms when they consume it.''
The court wondered how the farmers procured cyanide.
Advocate-General Uday Holla submitted, "The investigation is going on. Give me four weeks' time to file a detailed report.''
Later Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P J Dilip Kumar told DNA that a team of experts would soon be sent to Nanjangud taluk to identify the culprits and find out how the elephants were killed. A tentative list of the experts is being sent to the government for approval, he added.
"As we are unable to handle the case due to shortage of staff and skills, we are also requesting the government to hand over the case to the Corps of Detectives. The post-mortem report on the four pachyderms will soon be submitted to the government. An expert technical team will also be constituted to deal with such situations,'' he added.
"We are also requesting the government to deploy trained officers to vulnerable areas like Mysore, Bandipur, Nagarhole and borders with neighboring states,'' he added.
Besides, measures like strengthening the elephant proof trenches, solar fencing and electric fencing will be implemented, he added.
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