Mysuru, 10 Nov

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday directed officials to take scientific and immediate measures to prevent of wild animals straying into human habitats. The directive came after a tiger killed four people in Mysuru district over the past month.

At a meeting with senior forest department officials, Siddaramaiah asked, "Why are tigers and elephants coming out of the forest? Give a scientific reason."

He emphasised, "There is an urgent need to find an effective solution through a scientific approach," and suggested concrete remedial measures.

Siddaramaiah instructed the department to fill water pits inside forests, remove lantana, and grow grass to ensure adequate food and water sources within forest areas. He also directed continuous monitoring of elephant and tiger movements and said a separate meeting would be convened to prevent conflicts between wild animals and humans.

“There are complaints that forest department officers are being exploitative in matters of collection and sale of minor forest produce by hamlet residents,” his statement said.

FLAYS MYSURU OFFICIALS

Siddaramaiah expressed strong displeasure with Mysuru officials

“The people of Mysuru come to Bengaluru in search of me. If their work was done in Mysore itself, if the officials had sat in their offices… there would have been no need for people to come to Bengaluru,” he added.

Siddaramaiah also expressed his displeasure on poor performance of education in his home district. Mysuru slipped to from seventh place to 14th position in SSLC results, he noted.

Siddaramaiah said that farmers should learn from Maharashtra about cultivation.

“Farmers in Maharashtra grow three crops a year. In our district, only two crops are grown,” he said. “We should once visit Maharashtra, conduct a study, and prepare a report on how to adapt it to our local climate and conditions.”