Wild elephants are not new to Chhattisgarh. However, the way these keystone species has been handled by concerned authorities has made the problem worse. A glaring example of departmental apathy is the condition of a male captive elephant in Rajanandgaon.
According to senior journalist Alok Prakash Putul who had monitored condition of elephant for about three months says “I have been documenting the condition of young Appu (captive elephant) in July, August and September, 2013. During this period I observed that Appu is being kept under bad living conditions and the capacity of the staff who are involved in training him is also questionable. Appu is also under severe stress when I last visited and has been losing weight drastically.” In addition to it a signature campaign under the aegis of renowned organization ‘Greenpeace’ working for environment cause, has also been started to free the captive elephant, he informed.
The elephant was separated from the herd and travelled across 6 forest divisions (Korba, Katghora, Bilaspur, Kabeerdham , Khairagarh and Rajnandgaon) covering a distance of more than 300 km through continuous forest patches without causing harm to any human being or agriculture but unfortunately when it reached Rajnandgaon district, it tragically killed an old woman on the 12th of July 2013. Following the incident the elephant was captured and presently has been kept in captivity in Chirchari Forest depot in Rajnandgaon District.
Under captivity the elephant has developed wounds in its leg due to continues tying of chains around the legs, which has posed raised risk for the life of elephant.
According to elephant census conducted by Forest department the number of elephant has raised from 122 in 2007 to 215 in 2012. The raise in number of this key stone wild species has multiplied the chances of their contacts with human population.
According to CCF Eco Tourism and Elephant PC Pandey the elephant is in healthy condition. Some injuries have appeared in the leg of the elephant due to chains but a veterinary doctor is looking after the tusker. “The elephant is in healthy state,” he claimed.