Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik directs officials to stop elephant deaths immediately (India)
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik directs officials to stop elephant deaths
immediately (India)
The New Indian Express
February 16, 2021
See link
<https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2021/feb/16/odisha-cm-naveen-patnaik-directs-officials-to-stop-elephant-deaths-immediately-2264585.html
for photo.
BHUBANESWAR: Expressing concern over the death of six elephants in
Karlapat wildlife sanctuary in Kalahandi district in the last fortnight,
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday asked the authorities concerned to
take immediate corrective measures in consultation with experts at the
State and national level.
Reviewing the situation at a high-level meeting through video conference,
the Chief Minister asked the departments of Forests and Environment and
Animal Resources Development (ARD) to take coordinated steps to stop the
elephant deaths.
He asked the district collector, divisional forest officer and the chief
district veterinary officer to ensure vaccination of domestic animals in
the villages inside the sanctuary and nearby areas.
Besides, he directed the officials to ensure that all ponds inside the
sanctuary are disinfected and samples of water in them sent for
examination. So far, 25 out of the total 43 ponds in the region have been
disinfected.
Six out of the eight elephants of a herd inside the sanctuary have died due
to hemorrhagic septicaemia caused by a bacteria Pasteurella Multocida, the
Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a release after the review.
The Chief Minister was informed at the meeting that two more herds of
elephants have been spotted in the region. He asked the officials to track
them and ensure that they do not come in contact with elephants from the
herd which had contracted the disease.
Ten teams have been formed comprising range officers, foresters and forest
guards to keep a watch on the movement of elephant herds in the region.
The CMO said that steps are being taken to constitute two experts teams of
the Forest and ARD departments to monitor the situation.
The Inspector General of Project Elephant and Director of Wildlife
Institute of India has been requested to send a team to Odisha to assess
the situation and recommend further course of action.
Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Shashi Paul,
accompanied by a team from State Animal Disease Research Institute, made a
field visit to the affected area and instructed officials to ensure
continuous monitoring of elephant herds there.
Two other herds are five to eight km away from the infected area. They are
being continuously tracked, officials said.