Keonjhar: Forest department officials Monday recovered the decomposed body of a female elephant from the Rajia reserve forest under Champua range in Keonjhar division. They later assessed the animal to be 25 years old. They said that it was a suspected case of death by electrocution. Officials arrived at such a conclusion because the carcass was found lying beneath a 33KV line touching a non-insulated stay wire. They added that the carcass was approximately 15 days old.
On being informed, divisional forest officer, HD Dhanraj along with officials and veterinarians rushed to the spot Monday noon and launched a probe. It has been alleged that officials got the information late due to a lack of proper patrolling and monitoring in the forests. The claims of Forest Department on elephant protection and monitoring have failed, sources pointed out. Assistant Conservator of Forests Ashok Das said that a detailed investigation has been launched to find out the reasons behind the delayed reporting of the incident. He asserted that action will be taken against those found guilty. Sources said that elephants in Champua range are spreading panic and destroying paddy crops since the past few months.
As a result, man-animal conflict is increasing day by day. The villagers are spending sleepless nights to protect their crops. Despite efforts, the animals are entering the villages to eat paddy. A minor boy Sunday sustained serious injuries in an elephant attack in Champua area. Dhanraj meanwhile said that prima facie it appears to be case of electrocution. “The carcass is more than 15 days old and it has fully decomposed,” Dhanraj said. He said that negligence of TPNODL staff in properly insulating the wires and lines is increasing the electrocution deaths of tuskers.
