Madikeri: Chief minister Siddaramaiah has sanctioned a special grant to implement prevention measures to tackle the human-elephant conflict in Kodagu, CM’s legal adviser and Virajpet MLA Ajjikuttira Ponnanna said.Speaking after handing over a new jeep to the elephant task force posted in the Virajpet range at Avaregunda forest area near Siddapur, Ponnanna said work on a 7-km rail barricade from Maldare village to Avaregunda will begin soon at a cost of about Rs 12 crore. He said further grants will be mobilised to install barricades in other areas where elephants are entering the Siddapur region.On the occasion, Ponnanna also distributed sewing machines to two women beneficiaries living in forest areas on behalf of the forest department.He later inaugurated concrete road construction works costing Rs 1 crore in Guhya-Koodugadde, Avaregunda and Maldare villages under Siddapur gram panchayat. He said most rural roads in the constituency have been developed with special grants provided by the state govt and that several road works are currently in progress.Ponnanna said work on state highways has been delayed due to the war in the Middle East, which has affected asphalt supply. He added that several concrete road works have been completed within Siddapur limits and that rural roads have been prioritised under a further action plan.Virajpet ACF Tahseen Banu, Kushalnagar ACF Gopal AA and Virajpet RFO Shivaram were present.BOXMadikeri: A moving car caught fire due to a technical fault near Injilagere, close to Siddapur, on Sunday. Arun, a resident of Malagodu, was travelling with his family to a relative’s house when the vehicle caught fire. He immediately moved his family out of the car. There were no casualties. Locals reached the spot and helped douse the fire.
