The elephant death toll in Orissa has risen alarmingly in recent Years with the state government ignoring the warnings of wildlife activists
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Elephant deaths: Corridor of death
The rulers of Kalinga were once called 'Gajapati' because of their formidable army of elephants. But in contemporary Orissa, the pachyderms are under such severe threat that the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has been constrained to caution the state government.
MoEF, which disallowed Vedanta’s mining plans in Orissa’s Niyamgiri hills while giving Andhra Pradesh the go-ahead for the Polaveram project, has accused the state forest department of apathy. The Union ministry has sought the Orissa chief minister’s intervention to stop elephant deaths in the state.
Official records have it that in the last 19 years in Orissa, 231 elephants fell victim to poachers, 166 were killed in accidents and 173 died due to natural causes. Worse still, in the last 10 years, 155 elephants have died due to electrocution. Most of these accidents have taken place in Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal districts.
The recent death of three elephants due to electrocution in Keonjhar compelled Jairam Ramesh, Union minister for environment and forests, to write a letter to the Orissa chief minister requesting immediate attention. The letter reads, "I am told that occurrences of such incidents are very high in the state and 22 elephants have been electrocuted in the period 2008-09 to 2009-10. You will agree that it is a matter of concern…" Gajah, the annual report of MoEF’s elephant task force, has also identified electrocution as one of the principal causes of elephant deaths. High-tension electric lines passing through forest areas, specifically in elephant corridors, is a major threat. The electricity poles supporting the wires are placed far apart, causing the wires to hang low. An elephant passing under the wires often accidentally touches it and gets electrocuted. Though such incidents happen in North Bengal, Karnataka and many other states as well, nowhere is it more rampant than in Orissa.
Biswajeet Mohanty, secretary of Orissa Wildlife Society and member, National Board of Wildlife, says: "Immediate steps are required to protect the elephants. The animals are dying due to lack of proper official measures. We have written letters to power transmitting and electricity supply companies to find remedies as soon as possible. But the state forest department has not done little though this problem is a very old one."
The situation is so alarming that elephant deaths have occurred even in sanctuaries. Last April, poaching of 12 elephants came to light when wildlife activist V.M. Acharya and the honorary wildlife warden of Mayurbhanj Sanjukta Basa got to know of elephant killings inside Orissa's famous tiger reserve, Similipal. Initially a local forest staff reported the death of only one elephant, which prompted wildlife activists to investigate. During their field investigation inside the tiger reserve, bones and other remains of dead elephants were found. The carcasses were stinking.
Biswajeet Mohanty avers, "There were definite attempts to hide the bones. The investigation team found them concealed under huge rocks. Initially forest officials tried to cover up the incident but when the situation went beyond their control they accepted their complicity but didn’t confirm the exact number of elephants that were killed."
"The way elephants are dying is really alarming. The central as well as the state governments need to take urgent measures to protect these mammals," said S.N.Patra, working president of Orissa Environmental Society. The irony is that while the experts regard the situation as alarming, the government turns a blind eye to the gravity of the problem and furnishes conservative figures. "According to the latest census, Orissa is home to 1,886 elephants. In the last 10 years, 50 elephants on an average have perished every year. While six to seven elephants die from electrocution, six get poached every year. Accidents are causing more elephant deaths than poaching. Besides being electrocuted, elephants are sometimes mowed down by trains or fall into pits, said Priyanath Padhy, chief wildlife warden of Orissa. When asked about the Union Minister’s letter, he said, "I have not yet received a copy of that letter. I can only comment when I get it."
But state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak has taken this issue seriously. He told TSI, "We have taken initiatives to increase the height of high-tension lines in the elephant corridor. But this is only a temporary solution to the problem since the movement of elephants is increasing in human habitation zones. I think a joint effort of the energy and forest departments is must. As this
endeavour requires a huge investment, it cannot be done without the Centre’s
active participation."
Sadly, the state government machinery has done little so far. The State Board for Wildlife, a high-power body chaired by the chief minister, has not met even once in the last two years though at least one meeting every six months is mandatory. Moreover, there has been no meeting of the honorary wildlife wardens in the last two years. What makes matters worse is that offenders are rarely convicted in wildlife cases even when caught red-handed. Many cases are pending for more than a decade.
There is the famous case of Ganesh Jew, an ivory trader who was arrested in 1991 at Baripada town of Mayurbhanj district after a raid on his house. The accused has yet to be chargesheeted even after 19 years! "This clearly reveals the abject apathy of the forest department to engage with wildlife experts and conservationists who can provide valuable inputs and advice for protection of wildlife in the state," said Mohanty.
The threat to wildlife in Orissa isn’t, however, limited only to elephants. The tiger population of the state dwindled from 226 in 1993 to 50 in 2008 as per the national tiger census done by Wildlife Institute of India. More than 1, 40,000 turtles have been killed during the last 14 years. Crocodiles, water monitors and snakes are trapped and killed for their skins. Lakhs of birds are poached and sold every year around Chilika lake.
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Elephant deaths: Corridor of death
The rulers of Kalinga were once called 'Gajapati' because of their formidable army of elephants. But in contemporary Orissa, the pachyderms are under such severe threat that the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has been constrained to caution the state government.
MoEF, which disallowed Vedanta’s mining plans in Orissa’s Niyamgiri hills while giving Andhra Pradesh the go-ahead for the Polaveram project, has accused the state forest department of apathy. The Union ministry has sought the Orissa chief minister’s intervention to stop elephant deaths in the state.Official records have it that in the last 19 years in Orissa, 231 elephants fell victim to poachers, 166 were killed in accidents and 173 died due to natural causes. Worse still, in the last 10 years, 155 elephants have died due to electrocution. Most of these accidents have taken place in Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal districts.
The recent death of three elephants due to electrocution in Keonjhar compelled Jairam Ramesh, Union minister for environment and forests, to write a letter to the Orissa chief minister requesting immediate attention. The letter reads, "I am told that occurrences of such incidents are very high in the state and 22 elephants have been electrocuted in the period 2008-09 to 2009-10. You will agree that it is a matter of concern…" Gajah, the annual report of MoEF’s elephant task force, has also identified electrocution as one of the principal causes of elephant deaths. High-tension electric lines passing through forest areas, specifically in elephant corridors, is a major threat. The electricity poles supporting the wires are placed far apart, causing the wires to hang low. An elephant passing under the wires often accidentally touches it and gets electrocuted. Though such incidents happen in North Bengal, Karnataka and many other states as well, nowhere is it more rampant than in Orissa.
Biswajeet Mohanty, secretary of Orissa Wildlife Society and member, National Board of Wildlife, says: "Immediate steps are required to protect the elephants. The animals are dying due to lack of proper official measures. We have written letters to power transmitting and electricity supply companies to find remedies as soon as possible. But the state forest department has not done little though this problem is a very old one."
The situation is so alarming that elephant deaths have occurred even in sanctuaries. Last April, poaching of 12 elephants came to light when wildlife activist V.M. Acharya and the honorary wildlife warden of Mayurbhanj Sanjukta Basa got to know of elephant killings inside Orissa's famous tiger reserve, Similipal. Initially a local forest staff reported the death of only one elephant, which prompted wildlife activists to investigate. During their field investigation inside the tiger reserve, bones and other remains of dead elephants were found. The carcasses were stinking.
Biswajeet Mohanty avers, "There were definite attempts to hide the bones. The investigation team found them concealed under huge rocks. Initially forest officials tried to cover up the incident but when the situation went beyond their control they accepted their complicity but didn’t confirm the exact number of elephants that were killed.""The way elephants are dying is really alarming. The central as well as the state governments need to take urgent measures to protect these mammals," said S.N.Patra, working president of Orissa Environmental Society. The irony is that while the experts regard the situation as alarming, the government turns a blind eye to the gravity of the problem and furnishes conservative figures. "According to the latest census, Orissa is home to 1,886 elephants. In the last 10 years, 50 elephants on an average have perished every year. While six to seven elephants die from electrocution, six get poached every year. Accidents are causing more elephant deaths than poaching. Besides being electrocuted, elephants are sometimes mowed down by trains or fall into pits, said Priyanath Padhy, chief wildlife warden of Orissa. When asked about the Union Minister’s letter, he said, "I have not yet received a copy of that letter. I can only comment when I get it."
But state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak has taken this issue seriously. He told TSI, "We have taken initiatives to increase the height of high-tension lines in the elephant corridor. But this is only a temporary solution to the problem since the movement of elephants is increasing in human habitation zones. I think a joint effort of the energy and forest departments is must. As this
endeavour requires a huge investment, it cannot be done without the Centre’s
active participation."
Sadly, the state government machinery has done little so far. The State Board for Wildlife, a high-power body chaired by the chief minister, has not met even once in the last two years though at least one meeting every six months is mandatory. Moreover, there has been no meeting of the honorary wildlife wardens in the last two years. What makes matters worse is that offenders are rarely convicted in wildlife cases even when caught red-handed. Many cases are pending for more than a decade.
There is the famous case of Ganesh Jew, an ivory trader who was arrested in 1991 at Baripada town of Mayurbhanj district after a raid on his house. The accused has yet to be chargesheeted even after 19 years! "This clearly reveals the abject apathy of the forest department to engage with wildlife experts and conservationists who can provide valuable inputs and advice for protection of wildlife in the state," said Mohanty.
The threat to wildlife in Orissa isn’t, however, limited only to elephants. The tiger population of the state dwindled from 226 in 1993 to 50 in 2008 as per the national tiger census done by Wildlife Institute of India. More than 1, 40,000 turtles have been killed during the last 14 years. Crocodiles, water monitors and snakes are trapped and killed for their skins. Lakhs of birds are poached and sold every year around Chilika lake.
Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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