Gajabandhu scheme to protect jumbos in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: In the wake of death of three elephants in a road accident in Keonjhar last week, the State Government has decided to introduce Gajabandhu scheme for protection and safety of the pachyderms.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden Ajay Mohapatra informed this to the media after a meeting with Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) on Saturday.
Under the new scheme, the Forest department will appoint ‘Gajabandhus’ in villages surrounding elephant corridors in the State to get information on their movement and location.

Each ‘Gajabandhu’ (friend of elephants) will lead a team to track the movement of the jumbos and coordinate with field officials of Forest department. The ‘Gajabandhus’ will be entitled to Government remuneration. Besides, the Government is also planning to involve locals for getting information on movement of elephants and reward them for the same, sources said.

“The fresh move is expected to prevent elephant deaths due to road accidents and man-animal conflicts,” said a Forest official. The Government has also decided to install speed breakers at 65 locations in elephant corridors to regulate speed of vehicles. Plans are also afoot to install CCTVs at some of these locations, the official said.

Sources said the meeting also focused on creating animal underpasses on roads in Athagarh Forest Division and other elephant corridors. Further, the Government will provide compensation to victims of elephant attacks online.  A portal will be launched soon for this purpose. Victims seeking compensation will be required to apply online and the assistance will be provided to them within 15 days.