Even as the government confirmed "cyanide poison in ragi balls" as a cause for the elephants' death, the Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the Forest Department to find out the culprits behind the episode in Kappasoge village near Nanjangud and submit a report before December 9.

floods Kosi breach yet to be plugged The breach in the Kosi embankment that caused the devastating flood in Bihar may not be plugged before March 2009. The deadline for completion of the work was in November, but the state government extended it by four months. Though the government did not cite any specific reason for this, media reports link the delay to non-availability of

DIBRUGARH, Nov 12: The Larua Janata Solar Fencing Protection Committee (LJSFPC) has urged upon the district administration to pay compensation to the farmers of Larua Kolakhowa area under Barbarua development block affected by elephant depredation.

K. Raju
PALANI: Even as two domesticated elephants have commenced on Monday their work to drive a herd of wild animals into interior forests, the task seems to be very tough for them to achieve. Wild animals that retreated into forests during a raid returned to the farms at night.

DH News Service, Mysore:

A herd of elephants once again appeared near Hediyala Forest area on the border of Nanjangud and Gundlupet taluk of Mysore district on Monday.

Just 24 hours after forest personnel drove back the big herd of elephants into Chikkadevaraya Betta forests, it surfaced again.

K. Raju

PALANI: A herd of wild elephants has damaged standing crops in the lower Palani hills. Coconut, guava, banana and sugarcane crops in several acres have been destroyed in the past 10 days.

All efforts, including crude methods adopted by local people, to drive away the elephants have gone in vein.

Bandipur/Nagarhole, DHNS:

Call it an economics of villagers or woes of Karnataka forest department...

By Subhash Chandra NS, DH News Service, Bandipur/Nagarhole:

Hostile villagers, apathetic Government, corrupt power sector all seem to be against the elephants which are dying due to electrocution in Bandipur and Nagarhole ranges...

Within hours of the High Court issued a suo motu notice to State government on increasing elephant deaths, a meeting has decided to strengthen existing task force, form village committees and infuse additional funds to build up infrastructure to deal with wild elephants.

DH News Service, Bangalore:

The alarming rate of serial deaths of elephants in recent days has prompted the Karnataka High Court to step in and demand an explanation from the public authorities concerned, both in the State and at the Centre.