Elephant that killed four moves to Hindol in Dhenkanal

DHENKANAL/BHUBANESWAR: The tuskless elephant (makhna) that trampled four persons to death in Angul Forest Division of Saturday morning has moved to Hindol range of Dhenkanal.Dhenkanal DFO Prakash Chand Gogineni on Sunday said the elephant moved to Tarkabeda village forest of Hindol on Saturday night and its movement so far remains restricted between Tarkabeda and Jharbandha forests. The jumbo has also not shown any aggressiveness since last night, he said. Field teams comprising around 32 staff and protection assistants are keeping track of the elephant’s movement.

A tranquilisation squad has been sent to the range in view of the movement of people in the area which has several industries including Tata, Rungta and MGM nearby. “We have alerted locals not to venture into nearby forests during night. The elephant will be tranquilised only if it shows aggression,” he said.

The adult elephant, separated from a herd moving in Mandargiri reserve forest of Angul, went on a rampage trampling four persons to death in Angul, Bantala and Talcher ranges of the division on Saturday morning, triggering panic and resentment among the locals.

Angul DFO Vivek Kumar said the situation in affected villages has returned to normal after the elephant moved to Dhenkanal division. He said Rs 1 lakh out of Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia has been paid immediately to the families of each of the deceased, while the rest amount will be paid after the postmortem report is received.

Forest officials, meanwhile, said they are working on a comprehensive plan to reduce human-elephant conflicts in the vulnerable regions including Angul and Dhenkanal. A senior official from the Wildlife headquarters said the comprehensive plan will include inputs and suggestions from different wildlife and territorial divisions to deal with the issue more effectively. A meeting has already been conducted in this regard with officials of Angul and Baripada, he said.

Meanwhile, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Patnaik visited the affected families of elephant attack on Saturday and demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation and a job each to the kin of the deceased. He alleged the state government has failed to manage the elephant population which often trespass into human habitats. There is a clear laxity of the state Forest department in these cases, the state Congress chief said.