Chikkamagaluru: Coffee planters and farmers in Chikkamagaluru district have urged forest minister Eshwar B Khandre to take them into confidence rather than threatening or pressurising them over jumbos running amok in their fields.Their plea comes after the minister warned the planters of legal action and holding them responsible in case of loss of life due to elephant attacks.
Following the deaths of two daily wage labourers within a week in the Ballehonnur area, the minister had issued stern directives to forest department officials to take action if planters allowed labourers to work despite alerts on wild elephant attacks. According to the planters, both planters and labourers were under severe pressure due to uncontrolled elephant menace. Now, the minister’s warning has come as a shock, they said.With movement of elephants common in these areas, the forest department keeps issuing repeated warnings. “Is it possible for planters and workers to simply shun work because of this menace,” questioned Mudigere Planters’ Association president B R Balakrishna Balur. He said issuing threats to planters isn’t the solution. “The minister must take us into confidence to resolve the issue,” Balur said. Challenging the forest department to file cases against planters, he further said the farming community is the backbone of the nation, and the govt must not play with their sentiments. “Politicians have fooled the farming community for decades. During elections, they wear green shawls, but when it comes to the crunch, they blame and lathicharge farmers,” he added. Chandrashekar, a planter, said wild elephant movement was common in his estate and there was no way he could stop work for that. “The minister must understand the situation and look for a permanent solution rather than threatening farmers,” he added. Another planter, Santosh, said the department should control movement of wild animals. “Apart from natural calamities and diseases to crops, wild animals, including monkeys, bison and elephants, keep raiding plantations,” he said.
