Notwithstanding court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders concerning the safety of elephant population in Odisha’s famed wildlife sanctuaries, jumbos continue to perish in the State.
An elephant carcass was discovered at Kuldiha Sanctuary in Balasore district on March 24 and tusks of the elephant were said to be missing. This took the elephant deaths to eight in the month of March. Of the eight deaths, five were unnatural, and two among the five elephants had come in contact with electric fences.
March’s elephant death toll, the highest in four years, started with the discovery of an adult female’s carcass at Baghamunda Section of Purunakote Forest Range of Satkoshia Sanctuary on March 7. Two days later, an adult male elephant was found dead in a decomposing state at Tentulipadar Section of Karlapat Sanctuary. Wildlife activists suspect the death to be caused by infighting in elephant herd.
On March 13, a male elephant died while coming in contact with a live electric fence put up by vegetable farmers. The next day, a sub-adult makhna was found dead in a farmland. The cause of death could not be ascertained. Four more deaths were reported over the next few days, with Friday’s incident being the latest.
“The Forest and Environment Department has abdicated its responsibility towards protection of elephants despite repeated failures on the field. Not a single middle- or high-level officer has been punished over jumbo-poaching. It exposes terrible lack of accountability,” said Biswajit Mohanty, a leading wildlife activist, on repeated deaths of elephants in the State.
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Mr. Mohanty said the NGT had directed the Forest Department to issue notification regarding elephant corridors identified earlier in the State. “Apparently under the pressure of mining lobby, the notification about elephant corridors has not seen the light of day. Recently, the NGT asked the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) as to why he should not be penalised for the delay in notifying the corridors,” he said.
Similarly, the Orissa High Court had expressed serious concerns over elephant deaths in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR). Hearing a public interest litigation last year, Chief Justice S. Muralidhar observed that 2022 was a very bad year for elephants in Odisha.
In wake of intervention by two judicial bodies, the Forest Department should have been in the state of highest alert. But seemingly, some poachers are having a field day in forests of the State. Last year, forest staff were reportedly involved in burning of a tusker’s carcass in Similipal in an apparent attempt to cover up its poaching.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on March 22 urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Environment and Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav to take immediate steps to prevent elephant deaths in Odisha.
“Over the past decade, Odisha has witnessed loss of 784 elephants, with 245 of these deaths occurring in the past three years alone. The month of March this year has been particularly devastating with seven [now eight] elephant deaths being reported – highest in past three years. Sadly most of the deaths are due to poaching, electrocution or train accidents,” Mr. Pradhan informed Mr. Yadav in a letter.
He urged his ministerial colleague to take immediate action in addressing the pressing issue to ensure the harmonious coexistence of human and elephants in Odisha. In a similar tenor, Mr. Pradhan urged Odisha’s CM to take steps for the conservation of elephants in the State.
