Forest fires in G’chiroli push jumbos back into Ch’garh

Nagpur: Ousted from their original homes due to rampant mining, forest fires allegedly ignited for collection of tendu leaves have forced a herd of 22-23 elephants in Gadchiroli to return to Chhattisgarh.
The herd entered neighbouring Rajnandgaon and Manpur forest divisions sometime during the last three to four days. Forest divisions of Sironcha, Allapalli, Wadsa, Gadchiroli and Bhamragad are raging with ground fires causing huge biodiversity loss.
As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI), which receives real-time satellite alerts through Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), in the last four days, at least 1,500 fire alerts/incidents have been reported in the tribal district.
“Forest fires are ignited at the behest of tendu contractors with a myth to get better yield. This is one of the major reasons why the jumbos must have left,” said official sources.
Gadchiroli conservator of forest (CF) Kishore Mankar said the herd was last sighted in the Malewada range in the Wadsa division before it left towards Chhattisgarh. “The elephants must have left in search of water and food,” Mankar said.
The herd entered Gadchiroli through the Murumgaon range on August 14, 2022. Their eight-month stay was mostly peaceful, barring one incident in which a villager Surendra Jethu from Tidka in Gondia district was trampled after villagers chased them for 3kms.
“The same herd first arrived in October 2021 and left after six months in March 2022. This time it had a longer stay. We expect the herd to arrive again with more numbers in August. The elephants may move towards the Mahasamud basin,” said Sagnik Sengupta of Stripes And Green Earth (SAGE), an NGO working for elephants.
Talking to TOI, Chhattisgarh deputy conservator of forest (DyCF) Gurunathan N, who is doing research on elephants, said, “This particular herd is scouting for areas where they would get food and water along with paddy agricultural fields.”
“With the arrival of elephants for three seasons, the Maharashtra forest department has come to know about the elephant corridor. It is high time the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh forest officials arrange inter-state meetings to draw a long-term plan to protect their corridors,” said Uday Patel, former honorary wildlife warden of Gadchiroli.