Bhubaneswar: The fatalities arising out of elephant-human conflicts and death of jumbos due to habitat loss have emerged as a major cause of concern for the state Forest and Environment department, which claimed that it is taking steps to ameliorate the situation.
According to Ministry of Environment and Forests, elephants in Odisha have claimed lives of 105 human beings in 2017-18, the highest in India while 72 more people were killed by elephants in 2018-19 in the state. It is worth mentioning here that the 2017 Elephant Census has claimed that Odisha is fifth in the country to host maximum number of jumbos.
Data submitted by the Forest department in the Assembly said that in the last one decade, 2018 was the most fatal year for jumbos. Wildlife experts and environmentalists blame the government for elephant deaths and rising conflicts with humans.
“The Odisha government had been forming several committees and conducting studies to conserve elephants but hardly implementing the recommendations. The use of barbed wire and other unfriendly means has only added fuel to the fire,” Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife expert from the state said.
At the same time, the state is also blamed for not notifying Elephant Corridors despite proposing it. A case in this regard is subjudice in the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Shankar Prasad Pani, an NGT lawyer, said that the elephant paths are not legally recognised due to lack of notification for the same.
“If the corridors are not recognised, those do not get legal safeguard. Many mining projects and industries which come on Elephant Corridors could have been otherwise challenged due to its interference on the elephant passage. Due to lack of notification, elephant paths do not enjoy legal sanctity like other protected areas,” he said.
The Forest department, however, claimed that several steps are now being taken to protect elephants and reduce conflicts. “We are using drones in some areas for surveillance. We have collaborated with IIT-Bhubaneswar to bring robust technology on elephant tracking. We also started SMS-based alert system for Angul Forest Division. Solar fencing has also started in the state,” HS Upadhyay, Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) said.
Some forest areas like Athagarh Forest Division have experimented with the bamboo plantation through seed-balls for habitat enrichment to reduce the invasion of jumbos into human habitations and farmlands.
Manish Kumar, OP
