A ginger cultivator was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Sargur taluk of Mysuru district on Sunday.
The victim was identified as K.V. Joy Varke of Wayanad in Kerala. His body was found in the field. It is suspected that the attack took place around 8 a.m.
Ginger cultivation is rampant as a form of contract farming in the H.D. Kote-Sargur belt and local farmers lease out their land to cultivators from Kerala. Varke had obtained land belonging to Nagaraju, Jayaram, and Prabhu of Halehegudu village. He was watering the fields on the backwaters of the Nugu reservoir when the elephant charged at and killed him.
Senior forest officials, including Deputy Conservator of Forests Prashanth Kumar, visited the spot. The Sargur-H.D. Kote belt borders Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Nugu reservoir abuts the jungles, which are part of the Bandipur buffer zone, and elephant movement is frequent here.
