Karnataka - Bangalore

Probe elephant deaths: Vatal Nagaraj

BANGALORE: The Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha held a protest here on Sunday and urged the Government to take steps to protect elephants.

President of the party Vatal Nagaraj called upon the Government to probe the elephant deaths in the State.

Mr. Nagaraj said that due to extensive urbanisation the elephant habitat was shrinking.

He said there were ways to prevent the straying of elephants into agricultural lands and urban areas.

He said that the explosives used in mining all were terrifying them and forcing the animals to flee from their habitats. He urged the Government to stop mining in such areas.

He said poachers were using the opportunity to kill the animals for their tusks.

Mr. Nagaraj said that over 25 elephants had died mysteriously in last six months.

The Government should set up a committee to investigate these deaths, he said.

An elephant census should be launched and the KPTCL should be asked to ensure that live high tension cables did not hinder the movement of animals.

Expressing concern over the discovery of five elephant carcasses in Kapila river recently, Mr. Nagaraj said he refused to accept that they died of natural causes.

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