Wild elephant menace echoes in Taluk Panchayat meeting (State of Karnataka, India) The Deccan Herald January 10, 2021 See link <https://www.deccanherald.com/state/mangaluru/wild-elephant-menace-echoes-in-taluk-panchayat-meeting-937238.html> for photo. Somwarpet Taluk Panchayat members urged the forest department to initiate effective action against the menace of wild elephants in the taluk. Speaking on the issue during the Taluk Panchayat General Meeting presided over by Taluk Panchayat President Pushpa Rajesh on Friday, member Mani Uttappa said that the elephant menace has increased in the taluk. The forest department should dig ponds inside the forest so as to provide water to the elephants, he added. Somwarpet and Shanivarasanthe RFOs said that the lakes inside the forests will be rejuvenated. Mani Uttappa also complained that the desilting work of the lake dating back to the period of the Colonial era, in Meenukolli forest, has not been carried out. Taluk Panchayat vice president M B Abhimanyukumar complained about the menace of the middlemen in the survey department. The work is done only if the people approach the agents. The tahsildar should send the middleman out of the office, he said. Responding to the same, tahsildar Govindaraj said that if people experience the menace of middlemen, they should immediately complain. Taluk Panchayat executive officer Jayanna said that some officials have not been submitting the compliance report to the meeting. From the next meeting, the reports should be compulsorily submitted to the Taluk Panchayat one week prior to the meeting, he said. Member Ballaranda Mani Uttappa pointed out that the areas near the bank, clean drinking water unit and fair price shop in Chettalli have been polluted as pigs are reared nearby. No action has been taken despite complaints. He warned to stage a dharna in front of the offices of the Gram Panchayat, animal husbandry and health departments if no action is taken by the concerned departments. The Taluk Panchayat vice president alleged that an official from the fisheries department has been selecting the beneficiaries for fish rearing. He does not consult the Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat members. The official has been getting habitually absent for the general meeting and progress review meetings of the Taluk Panchayat, he added. Some members expressed their discomfiture against the indifferent attitude of Somwarpet and Kushalnagar Town Panchayat officials. No action has been taken against the menace of stray cattle and stray dogs. The officials have not been attending the meetings, said the members. Member Tangamma complained that there has been a delay in the issue of Covid-19 test reports in the government hospital in Somwarpet. Member Ballaranda Mani Uttappa demanded an inquiry into the alleged scam in Lamp Society, Basavanahalli. There are speculations that the assistant registrar of the cooperative department is involved in the misappropriation, he added. “As the only borewell in Hulukodu village in Handli panchayat limits of Shanivarasanthe has gone defunct, inconvenience has been caused to more than 100 families,” said member Kushalappa. https://www.deccanherald.com/state/mangaluru/wild-elephant-menace-echoes-in-taluk-panchayat-meeting-937238.html