Teenagers seek PM Modi’s intervention to tackle jumbo menace in Khanapur

Belagavi: In a bid to escalate a local problem to the highest echelons of the government, the children of sugarcane farmers have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to solve the persistent problem of elephants invading their fields in the Mahadayi River basin in Belagavi.
Elephants camping on the banks of the River Mahadayi in Khanapur taluk have been raiding sugarcane fields for the past three months, leaving a trail of destroyed produce in their wake. The elephants are reportedly camping near Maskenahatti, Gastooli, Karikatte, Chunchavad, Goravanki and other neighbouring villages in the taluk. Sources said that most of the elephants were in Maskenahatti. The failure of the officials of the forest department to address this problem has left sugarcane farmers in these villages clutching a massive loss.
Children of these farmers, most of whom are teenagers grew increasingly frustrated with their inability to help parents. Despairing over the plight of their parents, these tech-savvy teenagers decided to communicate their pressing concerns to PM Modi. Using the ‘MyGrievance’ app, the children have sought to bring the problem of the Belagavi farmers to the notice of the PM, and are hoping that this will result in the officials concerned being directed to take necessary measures to put an end to the menace.
Jothibs Bendigeri, one of the affected farmers, said that he had been losing sleep for the past three months lest his fields be raided by the jumbos at night. “Initially, we had no inkling as to what was under way, and it was only when we found dung on our farms that we realised that elephants were raiding the fields. We have run into elephants on numerous occasions and have frightened them away using firecrackers,” said Bendigeri.
Another farmer lashed out at the forest department for their failure to understand the gravity of the problem, and take corrective measures. “All of us appealed to the department, asking the officials to come up with a permanent solution, but we did not get a positive response. The elephants have destroyed some amount of paddy crop as well,” he rued.
Nikhil Gundapakar, Sanjay Marapkar, Girish Kolkar and Praveen Bhalbar are the four teenagers who have brought this issue to the notice of the PM. They said that an acknowledgement had been sent from the Prime Minister’s Office confirming the receipt of their plaint. “We have requested the PM to install solar fences on the borders of the forest to prevent elephants from invading our villages,” they said.
Range forest officer Shreekant K, while admitting to the prevalence of the problem, said that the department was putting its best foot forward to tackle the menace. “We have already installed a 12v solar fence in some spots and have loud speakers to ward off elephants. The villagers must cooperate with us to in solving the problem,” Shreekant told TOI.