Forest Minister Eshwara B. Khandre
| Photo Credit: File Photo
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has said that the State government has decided to establish a soft-release centre for wild elephants straying into human habitations, spread across 2,000 hectares of land. He said the tender process for the centre would be initiated within eight to ten days.Speaking to journalists in Hassan on Tuesday, the Minister said that hundreds of wild elephants had been venturing outside forest boundaries, causing distress to local communities and damaging crops.He said the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests had submitted a detailed report recommending the setting up of a soft-release centre as a long-term measure to address human-elephant conflict, particularly in parts of Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru districts. Tenders would be invited in accordance with the recommendations of the report, he added.According to Forest Department officials, the soft-release centre is proposed to come up within the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. It will feature an enclosure secured by railway barricades, where captured elephants will be housed and closely monitored for several months before being gradually released back into the forest.No new zooResponding to a question, the Minister said there was no proposal before the government to establish a new zoo. “Setting up a zoo requires prior permission from the Central government, and its maintenance demands sustained funding. At present, zoos across the State are being maintained using revenues generated by the Mysuru and Bannerghatta zoos,” he said.The Minister also said the department would move to reclaim forest land that had been encroached upon, adding that the process to recover approximately 100 acres of encroached land at Madenur, near Shantigrama in Hassan taluk, was already underway.Hassan Circle Conservator of Forests Yedukondalu V. and DCF Sourabh Kumar were present. Published - May 26, 2026 06:46 pm IST
