Wild life Society of Odisha secretary Biswajit Mohanty has resented that despite the Government circular that specifies that local forest officials would be held responsible for any unnatural death of elephants, the population of pachyderms has declined from 2,044 to 1,979 in State during last 36 years.
At a workshop here on Wednesday, Dr Mohanty further alleged that one of the causes for growing elephant death is the workmen employed to track the movement of elephants, are being engaged for the personal work of the higher forest officials. Out of existing 341 male elephants, only 100 are prolific. Everyday elephants are dying due to poaching, electrocution, train accidents, falling in unprotected wells, etc.
For man and elephant conflict, Mohanty said when the pachyderms don’t get their natural foods in their own habitation; they trespass into human habitations for food and water. “Even though several project proposals were given to the Government, to make food and water available for the big animals in forest, but the Government has paid a deaf ear to execute such proposals in a full-phased manner. Rather the Government has become instrumental, in provoking the elephants to intrude into human habitations by blocking their regular paths, giving permission to industries”.
“The Government has kept the proposals of 14 elephant corridors and nine link corridors pending in State since 2012, as execution of such proposals will hamper the industrialization and mining proposals,” Dr Biswajit Mohanty added.
Odisha Representative of Elephant Family in Delhi Rajit Pattnaik, project officer Aravinda Majhi and Wildlife Warden Pradyumna Prasad Rath also spoke.