Chhattisgarh: Katghora Forest Officials Start Campaign To Avert Man-Elephant Conflicts After Jumbo Tragedy (Raipur)
Chhattisgarh: Katghora Forest Officials Start Campaign To Avert
Man-Elephant Conflicts After Jumbo Tragedy (Raipur)
Free Press Journal
September 13, 2023
See link
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/chhattisgarh-katghora-forest-officials-start-campaign-to-avert-man-elephant-conflicts-after-jumbo-tragedy
for photos.
In order to reduce human-elephant conflict in the Katghora Forest Division
of Korba district, forest officials launched an extensive awareness
campaign in the elephant affected villages of Katghora forest division of
Chhattisgarh.
The campaign was intensified after three women were trampled to death by
wild jumbos in an accident in the Katghora forest division forest range.
Herd of 40 Wild Elephants Roam Inside Katghora Forest
2016 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Kumar Nishant, who recently
took the charge as a Kathghora Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) informed the
Free Press Journal that at present a herd of 40 wild elephants are roaming
in the Katghora forest division. Despite the forest department staffs are
making sincere efforts to save the lives in the man-elephant conflict
affected villages, three casualties occurred.
Two villagers who mistakenly overlooked the repeated flagged warnings of
the forest department and were attacked by the wild elephants, while they
were collecting bamboo produced in the forest of Chotia area, the DFO said.
Humans Thread on Danger Zone Despite Warning
One of them died on the spot while another person succumbed to its injuries
while having medication in the hospital, the officer said.
Second case was related to old age women who failed to flee when the
elephant attacked her house.
In the case, the forest department has already released the immediate
compensatory funds to the family of the victims. However, I and my team are
continuously camping in the affected area to save lives by creating
awareness and providing help, the DFO said.
The forest department has distributed torches, and other materials to the
affected villagers, and carried out regular meetings with the villagers,
and provided them requisite information about the presence and movement of
wild elephants in the area.
2 Apps to Monitor Movements of Wild Elephants
In order to keep a close eye on the activities of the elephants, their
movement presence, the department is monitoring their activities through
two apps - namely ‘Sajag’ app and ‘elephant tracking’ app. The villagers in
elephant affected areas have been encouraged to download both the mobile
apps to track the latest movements of wild elephants in Katghora forest
division, DFO Nishant said.
Automatic alerts were sent to the villagers once the presence of the wild
elephants got detected. Meanwhile, it was found that the wild elephants
usually damage crops and kachcha houses storing food grain in the forest
areas.
The department is identifying such lone houses which were situated in the
highly sensitive forest areas and soon a report will be tabled to district
administration so that effective decisions can be taken to avert such
encounters in future.
The department has also planned to install solar fencing around such
vulnerable houses in sensitive areas in a bid to prevent human elephant
conflicts, said Kumar Nishant. Villagers were also advised to vacate such
houses falling in highly sensitive areas, he added.
Sajag Alarms Installed in 31 Villages
It has been informed, Sajag alarms have been installed in 31 villages.
Moreover, after such a tragic incident occurred, it has been reported,
along with the DFO, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Bilaspur Circle
Rajesh Chandel also visited elephant affected villages under Katghora
forest division. Chandel also interacted with the villagers of the elephant
affected areas and assured them to resolve their problems at the earliest.