Farmer killed in elephant attack; locals blame forest dept for inaction 

The recent death of a 70-year-old man in Sindhudurg due to an elephant attack sparked anxiety among citizens, and many villagers have expressed concern about the ongoing conflict in the Sindhudurg district and urged the relocation of the elephant involved in the attack.  

Following a strong protest by the people, Srinivasa Rao, the principal chief conservator of forest (Wildlife), issued an order to capture the elephant on April 8.  

The deceased, Laxman Yashavant Gavas, a 70 farmer in the Morle-Puran village in Sindhudurg district, went to the farm to collect cashew nuts on Tuesday, April 8 when he was attacked by an elephant. The sub-adult male elephant who was involved in the attack is often seen wandering in this area.  

As per the official data, since 2019, at least 3 people have been injured in elephant attacks. As per reports, 6 elephants are still roaming in the area. 

Pankaj Gavas, nephew of the deceased, said, “The forest department does not have any expert working on elephants. Time and again, our demand for elephant capture has been neglected. At least now the department should take this issue seriously.  

Speaking about the incident, Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forest (Wildlife) said, “We have received the order to capture the tusker elephant involved in the attack. Accordingly, the ground team will be keeping track of the elephant’s movement. For this, we will be taking expert help from the Karnataka Forest department and post the capture, the elephant will then be shifted to Karnataka in an elephant camp, where he will be trained.”  

The Sindhudurg district has been experiencing human-elephant conflict for over a decade. Earlier in 2009 and 2015, two campaigns were launched to remove the elephants from these areas, the department also took steps to restrict the route at the Karnataka and Maharashtra border from where the elephants enter Maharashtra. However, despite all those efforts, the southern part of the state sees the presence of elephants in both the Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts.  

Commenting about the issue, Santosh Maurye, another villager, said, “The elephant’s presence has adversely affected the day-to-day life of the villagers, and we have been facing losses of farm produce. People are living in fear, yet no strong action is being taken by the forest officials to resolve this issue.”  

Following the latest incident, the outraged villagers blamed forest officials for failing to address the demand for elephant capture in this area, resulting in the elderly man’s death.