Keonjhar: Shrinking of forest cover in Keonjhar and its districts of Dhenkanal, Sundargarh and Deogarh has led to habitat loss for elephants, a report said.
Elephant causalities in this mineral rich district have not stopped despite several measures. In the last one decade, the district has reported 41 elephant deaths. Environmentalists have expressed concern over the casualties even as an elephant conservation project and corridor project have not been executed.
As elephant corridors are being damaged due to various factors, the animals often head towards human habitations and cause mayhem.
For safety of elephants, a forest area of 10,000 hectares in the four districts had been earmarked for the Baitarani elephant conservation project about 20 years ago. Seminars and workshops were held to take public opinion about the project in those districts. Sadly, the project had been caught in red tape.
Wildlife lovers and environmentalists voiced concern over the safety of the pachyderms which have been facing threat from habitat loss and other factors. They pointed out that elephants should have adequate fodder inside forests.
Wildlife conservator Harekrushna Mohant said there is need for sufficient food in the areas where forest cover is waning.
Similarly, an elephant corridor project has also been put in cold storage. Lakhs of rupees had been spent on identifying an area for the elephant corridor comprising Karo-Karmapada under Barbil range and Kardangi-Kakudia under Telkoi range.
Before approval of this project, the government had permitted mining of iron and limestone in the same area.
There are over 100 elephants in Keonjhar forest division, with 40 of them in Telkoi range.
The elephant corridor was planned for a 32-km stretch from Kardangi to Kakudiamba.
It is alleged that the proposal has been shelved on the ground of problems to mining.
President of Nagarika Manch, Kiran Shankar Sahu, observed that had the project been executed, the district would not be seeing man-animal conflicts.
DFO Santosh Joshi said safety measures are being taken for elephants in the areas where they are moving.
PNN
