Parjang: The carcass of a female elephant was spotted near Bankadhara minor irrigation project under Mahabiroda forest range in Dhenkanal district Saturday.
The elephant was aged 10 years. Prima facie, it was suspected that the pachyderm might have strayed into the area and destroyed crops last seven day ago, local villagers said.
Forest ranger of Kamakhyanagar Bibhudananda Mishra, forester Ram Chandra Rout and forest administration Ranjit Kumar Sahoo reached the spot and started an investigation.
Notably, August 24, 2019, a wild elephant trampled an old man to death. As trumpets of elephants have been heard by the local villagers, it was suspected that the elephant might have been killed by another elephant’s attack. The locals alleged that even after repeated complaints by them regarding the elephant attacks, none of the forest officials has come for their rescue. They do not have any information regarding this incident, said the local villagers.
Forester Panchanana Singh also admitted their allegations.
The ever-increasing deaths of elephants as well as people in human-animal conflicts in Mahabiroda forest range has alarmed locals who blame the state Forest Department’s “callous approach” for the problem and have sought an urgent action plan to prevent further loss of lives.
PNN
