Mysuru district in-charge minister HC Mahadevappa pays his last respects to farmer Doddaningaiah, who was killed in a tiger attack at Kudagi village in Saragur taluk on Saturday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Combing operations are underway at two places in Saragur taluk of Mysuru district where two farmers were killed in separate incidents of tiger attacks in the past few days.
While a farmer identified as Doddaningaiah of Kudagi village was killed by a tiger in Kurnigala village near Muliyuru area of Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) on Friday, another farmer named Rajashekar was killed on October 26 in Bennegere village near Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Bandipur.
A third incident also took place a few days ago in which a farmer sustained serious injuries in Badagalpura, also near Nugu, and is fighting for his life in hospital.
Combing operations near the Muliyuru range began on Saturday and forest department personnel, including members of the Special Tiger Force, fanned out in the area to look for conclusive evidence of the presence of tigers. Prabhakaran, deputy conservator of forests and director of BTR, said camera traps have been installed at vantage points that have been monitored for the presence of tigers in the vicinity. Apart from this, two elephants from the forest department camps were also deployed.
Mr. Prabhakaran said another team of workers was combing the area near Bennegere where farmer Rajashekar lost his life in a tiger attack on October 26. He added that 50 camera traps had been set up at both locations.
Meanwhile, the government has sent more than 50 additional personnel to Bandipur to be deployed in places known to be hotbeds of human-wildlife conflict.
The additional staff will be on deputation initially for 15 days — from November 1 to 15 — and will supplement the strength of the existing field staff.
The focus will be on the Nugu, Hediyala, Moliyuru Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding places in the area which has been reporting a spate of tiger attacks since recent days.
The authorities said that this is only an ad hoc measure and if necessary, the deputation period of other employees will be extended.
In this regard, Mysuru district in-charge minister HC Mahadevappa and other senior officials visited Koodagi village on Saturday and paid their last respects to late farmer Doddaningaiah.
A group of farmers representing the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and other associations also visited the village and expressed concern that the rise in human-wildlife conflicts has created an atmosphere of fear among farmers in the villages adjacent to the forests.
Published – 01 Nov 2025 21:07 IST
