MLC Dinesh Gooli Gowda has blamed the Forest Department staff for the death of elephant Arjuna in a fight with another tusker during an operation in Sakleshpur on Monday.
The MLC said Arjuna was drafted into elephant capture operation though there was a Supreme Court ban on deployment of elephants over 60 years for any use including forest operations.
He said operations to capture wild elephants was fraught with high risks. The authorities should have assessed the strength and abilities of the camp elephants including Arjuna, to ward off the wild elephants. Arjuna’s deployment in the operations was a violation of the law, said the MLC and sought action against the officials concerned in his letter to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre.
