Gundlupet: The Forest Department is preparing to drive the wild Tusker that comes every day to Himavad Gopalaswamy Temple to eat leftovers and prasadam offered by devotees. The 20-year-old elephant, called ‘Gopal Bhakta’ by devotees, visits the temple every evening, goes around the temple lifting its trunk and leaves the premises after consuming leftovers, catching the attention of temple visitors, Forest Department and wildlife lovers. The temple is located inside the highly sensitive Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Though the elephant has so far not caused harm to anyone and keeps to itself while consuming the leftovers leaving quietly later, the question doing the rounds is what if it causes problems in the coming days. Wildlife lovers have urged the Forest Department officials to drive the elephant back into the forest. One more headache for the Department is that the number of visitors to the temple has seen a sharp increase after the news of the Tusker spread. Officials said that hundreds of visitors have been thronging the hill temple especially in the evenings coinciding with the time of the Tusker’s regular visit.
This issue has been discussed with higher officers of the Forest Department and more guards have been employed to control the crowd. As a precautionary measure, crackers and a gun has been given to the Forest staff. However, steps would be taken to drive the elephant back into the forest soon. - Puttaswamy, Range Forest Officer, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta
