Karnataka hands over four trained Kumki elephants to Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati/Bengaluru, May 21 (IANS) The government of Karnataka on Wednesday handed over four Kumki elephants to Andhra Pradesh to mitigate man-elephant conflicts in parts of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is also the minister for forests and environment, received the specially-trained elephants at a ceremony held in Bengaluru.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Forest Minister Eshwar B. Khandre handed over the elephants to Andhra Pradesh forest officials.

Karnataka has agreed to give six Kumki elephants to Andhra Pradesh. However, two elephants could not be handed over on Wednesday due to their health and also due to the fact that their training was not completed. They will be handed over later.

Agreements relating to Kumki elephants, licenses, guidelines for the protection of these elephants and other documents were also given to Andhra Pradesh forest officials.

After performing the sacred Gaja Puja, the Karnataka leaders sent off the Kumkis by waving a flag while Pawan Kalyan received the tuskers by showering flowers.

According to an official statement here, Kumki elephants named Deva, Krishna, Abhimanyu and Mahendra were handed over to Andhra Pradesh.

The Mahouts from Karnataka will stay with the Kumki elephants for two months and train the Mahouts from Andhra Pradesh on their care and other issues.

Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that their government is ready to give more elephants to Andhra Pradesh in the future to meet its requirements.

Pawan Kalyan gave an assurance that he would personally monitor the health and care of the Kumki elephants given to the state. He hoped that the two states would continue their friendly ties.

It was in August last year that forest department of Karnataka agreed to give trained Kumki elephants, as requested by Andhra Pradesh, to overcome the havoc caused by wild elephants by damaging crops and attacking humans.

The decision was taken during the meeting between Pawan Kalyan and Eshwar Khandre in Bangalore.

Pawan Kalyan told media persons after the meeting that the two states agreed to work together for the protection of forests, wildlife and red sander. He said the two sides discussed seven points and reached a memorandum of understanding.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that cooperation from neighboring states is essential to prevent human-elephant conflict.

"Our state has the highest elephant population in the country. We have 3,695 elephants," said CM Siddaramaiah.

"Preventing human-elephant conflict can help avoid loss of life and crop damage. With this important objective in mind, six kumki elephants are being transferred from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh," he added.

Kumki elephants are trained captive elephants used in south India -- especially in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala -- to manage and control wild elephants. They are typically employed by forest departments for various operations.

CM Siddaramaiah stated: "Today, we are handing over elephants to the state of Andhra Pradesh. We have agreed to transfer six kumki elephants. Four are being handed over today, and the remaining two will be sent later."

"These are tamed and trained elephants. We have also provided a month-long training for mahouts from Andhra Pradesh, as proper training is essential to manage man-animal conflict. Training is required for both mahouts and elephants," he said.

--IANS

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