Post News Network
Kankadahada, Dec 1: Villagers drawing live wires on roads under Mahabirod forest range in Dhenkanal district to prevent elephants from straying into their villages has raised serious concerns over the safety of the pachyderms.
The live wires can be found drawn on roads connecting Gadapalasuni and Jarada villages under the forest range. The wires are later connected at night with 11-kv transmission lines. It is apprehended that elephants from Anantapur and Dolia reserve forests, who move through this route at night to eat ripen paddy, are most likely to come in contact with these live wires and eventually get electrocuted.
However, surprisingly, forests officials do not have any inkling about such live wires having been drawn by the villagers and have not taken any steps to curb such illegal and dangerous practice. This has happened despite over 20 forest guards having been deployed on the route to drive away jumbos straying into the area and keeping a track on their movement.
Sources said the road connecting Gadapalasuni with Jarada village has become the latest corridor for elephants on which they move to nearby paddy fields to eat ripen paddy crops. These live wires can be seen drawn from one tree to another on roadsides with both its ends firmly fixed on trees with the help of unused bicycle tyres and nails.
These wires extending upto half a kilometre have turned into death traps for elephant herds on the move. The farmers have taken such steps to protect their ripen paddy crops from being eaten by the pachyderms.
Three elephants were electrocuted during 2009-10 after some unscpoarupulous farmers connected the wires drawn for solar fencing with an 11-kv transmission line on the village end of Tampei under Mahabiroad forest range.
When contacted, Mahabirod Deputy Ranger Mukund Nayak expressed his ignorance on any such development, but assured that he would visit the spot soon and take action against the accused persons.
