Tiger Attack Kills Farmer In Mysuru; Safaris Suspended In Nagarahole And Bandipur

After a farmer was killed in a tiger attack in Mysuru district on Friday, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre ordered the suspension of safari operations in Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves and the immediate cessation of trekking activities in areas vulnerable to human-wildlife conflict.

Additionally, he ordered the deployment of forest personnel to safari activities in order to continue the big cat capture effort.

According to officials, Chowdayya Nayak, 35, was attacked and killed at Hale Heggudilu village in Saragur taluk of Mysuru district. They said that this is the third similar fatality in the area in the past month.

Khandre expressed sorrow over the fatalities and directed the immediate suspension of safari services in both reserves until further notice in a written directive to the Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force).

According to Khandre, it is "deeply distressing" that three people have died as a result of tiger attacks in Mysuru and Chamarajanagara districts along the Bandipur-Nagarahole forest area in the past month.

In response to earlier attacks, district in-charge ministers and local MLAs attended review meetings in Bandipur on October 27 and Chamarajanagara on November 2, according to a statement from the minister's office.

"Discussions were held with farmers and local residents, and warnings were issued that safaris may be suspended if necessary. However, another tragic incident has occurred, causing shock," Khandre said.

He has now given explicit orders to stop safari operations in Bandipur and Nagarahole and to stop trekking in regions where conflicts between humans and wildlife are common. It further said that all authorities, drivers of vehicles, and employees now allocated to safari responsibilities would be deployed for the tiger capture operation.

According to the announcement, the Director of Project Tiger and the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) have also been told to set up camp there and conduct the required actions to apprehend the tiger.

BJP State President B Y Vijayendra attacked the government after the incident, claiming that the state's ruling party was engrossed in internal disputes and totally ignoring farmers.

"The invaluable lives of farmers on the forest fringes of the state are being sacrificed one after another to wild animal attacks - this news is an utterly terrifying development. The government's conduct, treating the lives of our food providers as worthless, represents the extreme height of callousness," he said.

Today's incident of farmer falling victim to a tiger attack is nothing short of the divine negligence of the state government and forest department officials, he said.

"The forest department's irresponsible failure to implement measures that must be followed to prevent human-wildlife conflict is precisely what has caused the recurrence of tiger attacks," he said, in a post on 'X'. Vijayendra urged the government to take steps to save these invaluable human lives.

"If it fails to create a safe environment for the forest-fringe farmers who live with death in their hands, the government should prepare to face the people's outrage," he added.

With PTI input.