As a part of its modernisation drive, the expansion of Elephant Rehabilitation and Research Centre (ERRC), located at Ban Santour in Yamunanagar district of Haryana is on the cards.
The Haryana department of Forests and Wildlife has decided to draft a master plan involving Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and an NGO called Wildlife SOS to upgrade ERRC with infrastructure and modern equipments, including boundary wall, Elephant shade, installation of CCTV cameras among others, said Panchkula Forest and Wildlife Forest officer Shiv Singh. The number of elephants in Haryana is quite less. But there are encouraging signs as this year their population has gone to nine, he added.
Singh further said, “A proposal on its expansion, including the new layout master plan, is being made by the department officials concerned along with the agencies concerned. The drafted master plan will be sent to Centre Zoo Authority for its approval", he said.
ERRC, Ban Santour in Yamunanagar was set up in 83-acre patch of land in 2008. Four jumbos (female) are resting and roosting in the forest protected land here.
Haryana Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) VS Tanwar said, “ERRC at Ban Santoor is a sanctuary to rehabilitate the rescued, abused, exploited and sick elephants. It was set up by the Haryana Forests and Wildlife department in association with an NGO called Wildlife SOS, with the help of Government of India’s grant under the Project Elephant. ERRC has now elephant shelters, veterinary services, elephant husbandry and fodder service, elephant walking and exercise trails among others.”
Panchkula Forest and Wildlife Forest officer Shiv Singh further said that the department has four rescued female elephants, namely Chanchal, Junglee, Laxmi, and Lilly. These elephants were rescued from persons who had illegally possessed them.
Chanchal and Laxmi were rescued from Karnal while Lilly from Sirsa and Junglee from Kurukshetra. In 2018, Delhi Forests and Wildlife department had rescued an elephant named Moti which was illegally possessed by a person and sent to Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary in Haryana.
The number of "migrant wild elephants" is changing each year. A couple of elephants from the Rajaji National Park had been frequently visiting the Kalesar National Park, spread over 11570 acres every year. The number of "migrant wild elephants" has gone to four. Wild Elephants roam Kalesar and adjoining Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve spread across the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Out of four wild elephants, two are permanently living in Kalesar National Park while two migrate periodically to Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand and Simbalbara National Park in Himachal. After receiving information about the migration of the elephants, the employees of the department were pressed for keeping a close watch on the herd's movements. The team takes photograph of the wild migrants from a long distance. The Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a National Park in December, 2003, Shiv Singh added.
He said that a herd of eight wild elephants was spotted in 2016-17 and they camped for around three months. As for the steps taken to ensure protection of wildlife and environment, he said the forest staff have been given weapons by the state government to tackle the menace posed by poachers. The State had also set up two special environment courts in Kurukshetra and Faridabad to deal with crimes related to poaching and illicit felling of trees from the area.
The forest officer said that to spread awareness on cruelty against elephants, a programme was held on the occasion of World Elephant Day on August 12. About 60 students of Navodaya Vidyalaya, Yamunanagar participated in the programme and pledged never to take joy rides on elephants.
The first time International Elephant Day was observed on 12th August 2012. This day dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants, he said, adding the goal of World Elephant Day is to create awareness about the plight of elephants and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.