Mangaluru: The frequent movement of elephants near villages surrounding the Poomale Reserve Forest and other areas in and around Sullia taluk has disrupted children’s education and sparked fear among residents. Some have delayed sending their wards to kindergarten, while others have shifted to hostels.Take the example of Ravikumar M, an agriculturalist from Ubaradka Mittur. His family has lived on the forest’s edge for over 200 years. Now, he is hesitant to send his younger son to school due to fear of elephant attacks. Ravikumar takes his elder son, who is in grade four, to Sullia town, travelling through the fringe forest area. He observed a herd of elephants moving around in their area for the past nine months, mostly in the morning and after 7pm, which coincides with the time children are taken to school. Ravikumar, who was supposed to enrol his younger son in LKG, is now considering keeping him at home for another year while he drops his elder son every day to Sullia town, which is about 20km from his home and deep within the forest.Ravikumar explains that since his younger son is small, they would be in a difficult situation if they encountered an elephant on the way to school. The distance to the main road from his house is 1.5km and passes through reserve forest area.Shridhar M, another resident, has overcome this challenge by enrolling his two children in a nearby residential school for backward-class students in Aletti. When TOI contacted Sullia MLA Bhagirathi Murulya, she expressed her awareness of the difficulties faced by farmers, residents, and school-going children. She said they held meetings in Ubaradka, Renjala, and Aranthodu villages, along with forest officials, in recent days. The immediate solution discussed is the installation of solar fences to deter elephants. They are requesting the govt to provide a 90% subsidy instead of the current 50%.
