Joda/Keonjhar: Elephants play a key role in regenerating forests, said Dharitri and OrissaPOST Editor Tathagata Satpathy during ‘Hati Sabha’ at Upara Jagar village under Kumundi panchayat of Banspal block in Keonjhar district Monday.
Speaking at the event, organised jointly by the two newspapers, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) and Bikas Saathi, Satpathy explained how elephants contribute to the forest ecosystem. “As large wild animals, elephants break branches and consume fruits from tall trees in forest, allowing sunlight to reach smaller plants and enabling new vegetation to grow,” he said. Satpathy noted that elephants not only shape the forest but also select their own migration routes and even their places of death, underscoring their unique role in the natural world. He also criticised administrative apathy and negligence of mining companies in Keonjhar, saying the district’s natural wealth has enriched mining firms while leaving behind widespread unemployment and environmental degradation. “The soil of Keonjhar has absorbed the blood and sweat of its people,” he said.
Satpathy urged that local youths, particularly from the district’s 13 blocks, be engaged in employment through cooperative agreements with mining firms. He added that profits from Keonjhar’s mineral wealth are being invested outside Odisha in industries, hospitals and institutions, while the region itself suffers.
At the meeting, representatives from 21 panchayats shared their views, and villagers submitted petitions to officials demanding support and attention to these issues. Keonjhar district, despite its vast resources, remains neglected, speakers said at the community meeting on elephant conservation. They alleged that mining has caused massive forest destruction while companies have ignored their social responsibilities, failing even to provide basic items such as flashlights to forest-dwelling residents.
Dharitri and Orissa POST Chief Executive Adyasha Satpathy said training is needed in tribal-dominated, elephant-prone regions. She added that raising local issues at the right platforms is the responsibility of both publications. She also called for new proposals and amendments to the government’s elephant policy, stressing that villagers’ views and feedback will be crucial. Though affected by elephant incursions, local communities still express deep affection for the animals, which, she said, offers hope for protecting elephants’ future. Bhuyan Juangpidha forest range officer Nayankanta Sahoo said nine to 10 elephants still live in nearby forests and that the Forest Department requires villagers’ cooperation. He added that due to frequent elephant incursions, lights are being distributed gradually.
The state government, he noted, has doubled compensation for villagers affected by elephant damage and plans to provide additional lighting in coming days. Praising ‘Hati Sabha’, an elephant awareness gathering meeting, Sahoo said such gatherings act as a bridge between people and elephants. At the start of a community dialogue in Banspal block, over 100 men and women from 21 elephant-affected panchayats gathered to share their concerns. Kumundi panchayat ward member Gopal Palei alleged that villagers are not receiving enough flashlights, making it difficult to deal with elephant incursions.
He added that the Forest Department has not been holding awareness or training programmes. “Forest staff should extend more cooperation,” he said. Padakasada resident Sulo Dehuri recounted that elephants entered her home in the dark, ate stored rice and even swallowed the currency notes kept inside the rice container.
She urged the Bhuyan Juangpidha forest range officer, present at the meeting, to supply lights to help residents protect themselves. Sabitri Dehuri, a local, said increased human demand for resources has led to deforestation, while mining has forced elephants closer to villages. “As a result, conflicts between people and elephants have intensified,” she said.
Villager Sumitra Pradhan reflected that 30 years ago, elephants, forests and humans coexisted harmoniously. “Now, with rampant forest fires and large-scale mining, that relationship has turned into conflict,” she said. Prasant Kumar Parida, a local, said, “When a home is destroyed, humans react. Likewise, when the habitat of a giant wild animal like elephant is destroyed, it too becomes reactive and aggressive.”
Among others, FES’ block team coordinator Swastik Tripathy and project manager Bhabani Shankar Parida, Bikas Saathi members Manas Panda and Arvind Singh, Kumundi panchayat naib sarpanch Niladri Senapati, and Biranchi Narayan De[1]huri, a senior citizen of the village, were present during the event.
