Placing paddy in the open to divert the attention of elephants and to reduce the human-elephant conflict has been successful, Chhattisgarh Forest Minister Mohammed Akbar said on Wednesday.
In three forest divisions, the elephants consumed 14 quintals of paddy kept in the open and did not invade the village, he said.
As part of the project, the paddy was kept in the open at different places in Surajpur, Dharamjaigarh and Balod divisions.
At Surajpur, the elephants ate up four quintals each in Banshipur and Tukukand and six quintals at Bagda, Akbar told the media here.
He said 16 herds having 307 elephants are on the constant move in Rehan, Tamor Pingla, the Badalkhol Sanctuary, Pratappur, Raghunathpur, Tapkara, Kunkuri, Manora, Duldula, Bark, Dharamjaigarh, Kapu, Lailunga, Bora, Bakaruma, Kudmura, Kartala, Pasand, Katghora, Raigarh Gharghoda, Tamnar, and Balod areas.
So far, nine elephants have been radio-collared. The Indian government has given the go ahead for radio-collaring and this will commence soon.
The Minister said the elephants generally damage houses which store rice, paddy and mahuwa.
He added that an ‘Elephant Alert System’, an application, has been developed, which helps to generate sound and lighting in the affected villages.
Keeping paddy in the open is one way to keep the elephants away from damaging crops and houses.
Minister counters BJP’s allegations
Forest Minister Mohammed Akbar said no procurement of paddy is being done. It is only transfer from the Food Department to the Forest Department. He denied BJP's allegation that decayed paddy was given to the elephants.
He said elephants are very intelligent. Their memory and sense of smell are very sharp. Once they consume the paddy, they will not harm the village houses and standing crops in the fields for food.
The government will make necessary arrangements to keep paddy in the open in the years to come if elephants get into the habit of eating paddy.