Recovery of firearms by police; wild animals worry Ballari farmers

BALLARI: Farmers in many areas of this ore-rich district have little option but to fend off wild animals with their bare hands after they were forced hand over firearms to local police stations in the run-up to elections to Gram Panchayats.  

With the level of water in Tungabhadra reservoir receding in May, farmers often spend the night in their fields as they await their turn to draw water from its canals. In the last one week after announcement of Gram Panchayat elections, many incidents of wild animals attacking cattle and farmers have been reported in many villages. On Wednesday night, a leopard attacked and killed a cow and a couple of goats at Doulathpur village in Sandur taluk. In another incident near Hampi, a sloth bear attacked a farmer in the early hours on Wednesday when he was going to his sugarcane field.

Hampi and surrounding areas are part of a natural migration corridor of sloth bears of Daroji sanctuary. “When police personnel cannot provide security to every farmer, the Election Commission must exempt farmers residing near forests from handing over their weapons as elections are being held in May, a time when farmers in the district spend sleepless nights to draw water from canals of the Tungabhadra river”, said a of Kamalapur village in Hosapete taluk.

Apart from farmers, many traders and businessmen too expressed a similar opinion.  “The procedures for obtaining an arms licence are rigorous. We are screened for a criminal background and the merit of our complaint of threat to life or property. It is followed by tests and training after which the licence is granted. Hence, we are responsible enough to handle weapons and realise the consequence of misusing them. In my opinion, demanding the surrender of weapons for safe custody is obsolete,” said a licensed arms-holder.

A police officer, however, said some owners of firearms were under the wrong impressions that collection of weapons meant a blanket recovery of arms. The district magistrate or the superintendent of police could  waive the rule if surrendering weapons pose a threat to the licence-holder’s life.