A farmer died in an elephant attack at Sullakki in Sakleshpur taluk on Monday morning. Manjunath alias Kempanna, 52, was on the way to his farm when he encountered the wild elephant.
He is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a son. More than 70 people have died in elephant attacks in Hassan district in the last 10 years.
As the news of his death spread, the residents of Sakleshpur staged a protest blocking the movement of vehicles on National Highway 75 that connects Bengaluru and Mangaluru. Members of pro-Kannada organisations and farmers raised slogans against the Forest Department and the State government for repeated incidents of elephant attack.
More than 60 elephants have been roaming in parts of Sakleshpur, Alur, Belur, and Arakalgud taluks of the district. Recently, the Forest Department captured two tuskers and relocated them. However, one of them has returned to the taluk.
The protesters alleged that the negligence of the Forest Department led to a series of deaths in the taluk. Several businessmen closed their shops extending their support to the bandh. The vehicles on the road were stopped for nearly an hour.
Sakleshpur MLA H.K. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Commissioner R. Girish, and DCF K.N. Basavaraj met the family of the deceased and handed over a cheque of ₹2 lakh to the family. The family would get the remaining amount of ₹5.5 lakh later.
