A person was seriously injured and two others sustained minor injuries on Tuesday morning when a herd of elephants strayed into the slum areas near BHEl colony adjacent to Rajaji National Park. The forest department team had a tough time in sending the herd back to the forest. The colony residents said that the herd had strayed into the locality on late Monday night.
The residents said that the herd was spotted early in the morning when they had gone to the fields to ease themselves. The forest range officer of Haridwar forest division range Mahesh Semwal said, “The herd of elephants strayed into the slum areas near Sector 5 BHEl located close to the forest area when the people were out in the fields. Three persons- Ashwani, Sunil and Hari Singh- were injured. The residents say that th herd contains a large number of elephants.”
All the injured were admitted to the district hospital. As Ashwani turned critical he was referred to a higher medical centre Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant.
Observers say that the unauthorised slums adjacent to the Rajaji National Park are seeing the herd of pachyderms swarming into the area frequently. The wildlife experts say that the settlement in the Park area amounts to encroachment of the forest land which is the rightful habitat of the wild animals. “The human settlement in the habitats of the animals is inviting danger to the settlers,” says Bivash Pandav, a wildlife expert.
Forest guard O P Singh said that despite the warning boards placed in the area near Sector 5 BHEl, the residents do not refrain from going into the jungle areas to relieve themselves. “If things continue such incidents can hardly be avoided,” he added.