No let-up in human-elephant conflict in Keonjhar district

Keonjhar: There is no letup in the human-elephant conflict in Keonjhar district. It has claimed the lives of 32 elephants and 47 people in the last six years, a report said. With food scarcity growing by the day, elephant herds stray into villages bordering the jungles.

In the process, they destroy crops and property and even kill human beings who stray into their paths. People also retaliate by killing pachyderms. Then there is the menace of poachers.

They kill elephants for the tusks. Most people in the district blame Forest department officials for this ‘Catch-22’ situation. They alleged that officials have failed miserably in their efforts to save both animal and human lives.

The Forest department has taken steps like sending SMS alerts informing the arrival of elephants in human habitats. Trenches have also been dug up near several villages to prevent the elephants from entering those. However, the measures have proved to be futile.

According to Forest department officials eight elephant deaths have been normal while the remaining due to unnatural circumstances. Four pachyderms have died in train accidents, three in road mishaps, five electrocuted and 11 breathed their last due to illness. Two elephants died in 2017-18 (April-March), three in 2018-19, six in 2019-20, seven in 2020-21 and an identical number in 2021-22.

So far in 2022-23, another seven have died. It is apprehended that the numbers will rise if the animals are not given adequate protection. Similarly, 47 people have been killed in elephant attacks from 2018 till now.

Reports said that 14 persons died in 2018-19, nine in 2019-20, six in 2020-21, 14 in 2021-22 and four till November in 2022-23. Over 200 persons have been injured in elephant attacks in the last six years. Eight persons have suffered permanent physical disability due to the injuries.

The Forest department has paid around Rs 1. 88 crore as compensation. These include loss of lives and crops.

However, Sanjay Panda a farmer of Nelung village alleged that most to the time they do not get adequate compensation due to improper assessment. Panda and his counterpart Bhagirathi Singh of Talapada village said that they have to spent the sleepless night guarding their crops due to elephant menace. The farmers who have borrowed money for cultivation are the worst hit.

With elephants destroying their produces, the farmers fail to repay their loans. Hence many of them are now abandoning cultivation and shifting to other vocations. Reports said that 13,329 farmers have faced crop losses on 10,732,866 acre of land from 2018- 19 till now due to rampaging elephant herds.

Similarly, houses of 781 people have been pulled down by the animals out of which 473 faced partial damage while 308 were fully destroyed. A compensation of Rs 40. 96 lakh has been paid towards house damage assistance.

DFO HD Dhanraj said that people are being warned in advance about impending elephant attacks through SMS and through public address systems. Moreover, the movement of the animals is being tracked with drones and steps are being taken to keep them away from human habitats. Trenches have been dug up and solar fencing done at many places to prevent the animals from straying into human habitats.

Raids are also being conducted at regular intervals against poachers and people attacking elephants, Dhanraj added. Farmer leader-cum-environmentalist Radhakanta Mohanta said efforts should be made for the protection of elephant habitats and the provision of enough food for them. He also demanded the implementation of the proposed Baitarani elephant reserve project to safeguard the animals.

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