A very bad year for elephants in Odisha: Orissa High Court

CUTTACK:  Expressing serious concern over the recent developments in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), where forest staff are reported to have burnt the carcass of a tusker to allegedly cover up its poaching, the Orissa High Court on Tuesday advanced hearing on PILs on elephant deaths in the state. The PILs were scheduled for January 18.

Terming the developments in STR a matter of deep concern, the division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman posted next hearing on the PILs to December 22.  Chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chairman joint task force (JTF) Manoj V Nair was present virtually and gave the court a written status report on the case being investigated by JTF. It stated that all they could find were a few bones and flesh from a waterfall/stream where it was disposed off by the forest staff. Three forest officials had been placed under suspension. He assured the court to take the inquiry to its logical end.

The court impressed upon Nair that it would like to be assured that the preventive steps that were planned by the JTF are actually in place immediately. Chief Justice Muralidhar sought to know the preventive measures and how quickly can those be can be put in place. He observed that this has been a very bad year for elephants in Odisha, “perhaps one of the worst years.”

Nair informed about deployment of Gaja Sathis (Friends of Elephants) for tracking elephants in the state. Apart from monitoring the movement of elephants, the Gaja Sathis engaged purely on volunteer basis through Vana Suraksha Samitis (VSSs) are expected to coordinate with anti-depredation squads and sensitise villagers about presence of jumbos, if any, in nearby areas.

Taking note of it, the division bench directed that an affidavit listing out the exact measures taken be filed before the next date. This will include the names of Gaja Sathis said to have been engaged and the maps showing the routes of elephant corridors with the names of the villages that fall in and around the corridors.