Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has announced a special compensation of ₹10 lakh to the family members of H.H. Venkatesh, the expert shooter who died during the operation to capture an elephant on August 31. Besides that, the family received another ₹15 lakh of ex-gratia awarded to families who lost their members due to the wildlife.
Mr. Khandre announced the special relief during his visit to Venkatesh’s family at Honnavalli in Alur taluk on Wednesday. Mr. Venkatesh, 67, died when he was part of the operation at Halliyur near Rayara Koplu in Alur taluk. He was working for the department as an outsourced employee. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
The Minister spoke to the family members and conveyed his condolences. Venkatesh’s death was an irreparable loss to the department, he said. “As soon as I learnt about the elephant attack on August 31, I instructed the officers to provide him treatment and take all steps necessary for his survival. Every individual’s life is precious. It is disheartening to know that people are dying due to elephant attack,” he said.
Answering a question on the negligence of the Forest Department officials that led to his death, Mr. Khandre said the department had issued notices to senior officials in this regard. Action would be taken against the officers if their negligence was noticed.
The department, he said, had laid railway barricades to restrict the movement of the elephant herds. So far, the barricades have been installed for 312 km in the State. Still, there was a need to place the barricades for another 300 km. Besides that, the elephants were being radio-collared to track their movement so that the public could be alerted about their movement.
