Chhattisgarh: Wild elephant killed in Jashpur district; seventh death in last two months

A wild elephant was killed in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, when the animal came in contact with an electrified fence of a farm on Thursday night.

This was the seventh death of a pachyderm in the state in the past two months either due to electrocution or consumption of toxic pesticides.

“We have registered a case against the farm owner and arrested two persons in this connection,” said Arun Kumar Pandey, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF) (wildlife), Chhattisgarh.

The carcass of the tusker was recovered from Jhiliberna village under Tapkara forest range on Friday morning.

“A farmer had fenced his paddy field with electric wires to protect from wild elephants. On Thursday night, the wild elephant got electrocuted, when it came in contact with the farm’s electric wires,” Pandey said.

In June, six elephants were killed in the state’s four districts, including carcasses of two tuskers were recovered from the Pratappur forest range in Surajpur district and another was found dead in the neighbouring Balrampur district.

Later, two elephants were electrocuted at Dharamjaigarh in Raigarh district and a calf died after getting stuck at a marshland in Dhamtari district.

The state forest department took cognisance of a spate of elephant deaths and launched an awareness campaign in June in the northern plains to encourage farmers to use bio-insecticides and bio-fertilisers.

The authorities have also issued an order to divisional forest officer (DFO) of Dharamjaigarh in Raigarh district, which has reported the maximum number of elephant deaths by electrocution in the last 10 years and directed him to take necessary steps to prevent such incidents.

The order stated that the forest department should ensure that 11 kilo-volts (KV) of power transmission lines, which have caused deaths of pachyderms should be installed 7.5 metres above the ground-level and insulated electric wires should be used in these areas that fall within the elephant corridor.

Forest officials have been directed to coordinate with Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Limited (CSPGCL) in a bid to detect illegal connections and live wires in areas that fall in the elephant corridor.

The state forest department data showed that the population of wild elephants in Chhattisgarh has risen from 225 to 290 in the past 10 years.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has issued guidelines for the monitoring of wild animals and also improving measures for their conservation.

North Chhattisgarh is home to around 240 wild elephants, which have claimed several human lives and loss of properties in the region over the past few years.