The Forest department as well as the Baleswar district administration are on their toes as a herd of elephants have arrived in the district from Jharkhand crossing West Bengal and Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
As many as 23 pachyderms, including four tuskers and an equal number of calves, are currently camping at Sataghati under the Kuldiha sanctuary.Elephants generally migrate to Odisha between the end of November and beginning of December coinciding with the harvesting of Kharif paddy crop and return after about a month’s stay in Mayurbhanj and Baleswar.But this time, they jumbos have arrived within four months of their return.
Forest department personnel are keeping a close vigil on the elephants’ movements and they presume that the herd would stay for a few days in the forests of Nilgiri in Baleswar district.The jumbos have so far not caused any major damages to properties except one house and have eaten the left-out Rabi crop in the fields.“On Saturday night, although the elephants came to the foothill villages, they went back by morning without causing any major damage. We are closely monitoring their movements. They are eating the left-out paddy crop in the fields,” said Kuldiha Range Officer Rabinarayan Mahapatra. “It is believed they have come for water and fodder here,” he added.
Baleswar Divisional Forest Officer Harbardhan Udgata said, “There are about 100 water reservoirs and 15 salt licks in the Kuldiha sanctuary. Besides, there are four minor irrigation projects inside the sanctuary. We believe the elephants have now come in search of both water and food, which are abundantly available here.”“We expect they could stay in the forests of Nilgiri for some more days,” he added. Cuts in power supply are resorted to in the particular areas where the elephants are present.
“We had a coordination meeting with the Energy Department officials and the latter are extending good cooperation. The Nesco staffs are also doing duty along with us. Wherever the load-shedding is necessary to protect the pachyderms, it is being resorted to there,” DFO Udgata said.