Meera Bhardwaj:
In a shocking incident, two elephants were electrocuted in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. The electrocution of two pachyderms occurred in Sulegali village, Khanapur taluk in Belagavi district on Sunday. (02.11.2025).
Forest officials have filed a case against the farmer who had electrified the solar fence around his field. The farmer is Ganpati Saterri Guruv of Sulegali village and it is further reported that he had illegally taken connection from the electric poles that passes near his field to electrify his solar fence in an attempt to kill wild boars.
In the last decade, this is the second case of electrocution in Belagavi district after the last incident occurred on 26.7.2015 in Survey No: 106, Manturga, Khanapur taluk, when a big tusker was electrocuted. This incident had occurred due to negligence of HESCOM staff as a hanging KV Line electrocuted the tusker.
NATURAL ELEPHANT MOVEMENT FROM KARNATAKA-MAHARASHTRA
Local people said the two elephants had been roaming in Sulegali village near Khanapur for the past few days. According to forest officials, the forest staff had been tracking and monitoring the movement of elephants not only in this village but also other villages that falls on the “natural elephant movement path” from Dandeli in Karnataka to Tillari region on the border of Goa-Maharashtra.
Forest officials added, “This elephant movement is due to the presence of forest areas, water sources and food crops between the Dandeli Elephant Reserve and the forested regions in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. There are nearly 35-40 villages falling on the long path of elephant movement.”
In their annual exercise, elephants split into many groups (ranging from 3-6 elephants per group) and have a history of traversing this route from Dandeli to Belagavi to Maharashtra (Tillari Dam area).”
IN SEARCH OF WATER AND FOOD
With some parts of Kanakhumbi Range bordering with Maharashtra, the elephants go to the neighbouring state for food and water at the Tillari Dam area. This has led to an increase in human-elephant conflict as elephants raid farms and damage crops in the region.
All are resident elephants of Dandeli and when they cross from Dandeli to Nagargali to Sulegali to Nandgad and many more villages on this “natural elephant movement path”, a few groups enter the villages in search of food, shelter and water. This route has an abundance of water (be it the Mallaprabha River or waterholes), forest area with new bamboo shoots, lush paddy and sugarcane fields.
In fact, the elephant movement is centred in and around the Mallaprabha River which is awash with forests, food and water. Further, they roam around feeding on sugarcane in Nerse village (left of Bhimgad Sanctuary), Ashok Nagar, Tivoli and Manturga villages.
Forming small groups, the elephants enter the villages falling on the “natural elephant movement path” and feed on paddy or sugarcane. There are certain places like Kusamalli where these elephants will camp for a few days as in this village, there is a waterhole and plenty of sugarcane crop and the pachyderms many times, enter the fields to feed on.
CONFLICT WITH VILLAGES ON THE WAY
In view of this situation, the farmer had illegally electrified the fence around his field which has resulted in the death of these two elephants. Forest officials reiterate that the frontline forest staff are always on the move to monitor and track the movement of the elephants so as to avoid any human-wildlife conflict.
Naturalist Pavan Patil says, “During the months of November-December, elephants stray into these villages as it is the paddy season. Since Year 2000, the villagers have been driving out the elephants with firecrackers as the jumbos have a tradition of coming into the villages including Sulegali.”
KHANDRE ORDERS AN INVESTIGATION
According to Forest, Ecology & Environment Minister, the death of the two elephants is alleged to have occurred due to dereliction of duty by forest officials and frontline forest staff, who failed to take appropriate action and save the elephants from electrocution.
Expressing grief over the death of elephants due to electrocution, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has ordered an investigation into how the fence had been electrified. The Chief Wildlife Warden has been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and submit a report within five days with recommendations for disciplinary action, if any against forest officials and frontline forest staff.