Three Elephants Killed in a Month
Gurudijhatia: Environmentalists have expressed serious concern over the recent elephant deaths. The Athagarh Forest Division has turned into a death trap for elephants. In the span of just a month, three tuskers have been killed. These incidents raise serious questions about the efficiency of the forest department and its commitment to elephant protection.
The Athagarh Forest Division comprises five forest ranges—Narsinghpur East, Narsinghpur West, Badamba, Athagarh, and Khuntuni. After poachers kill elephants and loot their tusks, forest department staff allegedly try to cover up the incidents by either burying the skeletons or burning them. Past incidents in Badamba and Narsinghpur forest ranges stand as evidence of this.
To apprehend the poachers and involved forest officials, the state’s Crime Control Branch has launched a separate investigation. However, the general public remains unaware of its progress. The killing of three elephants within a month and the looting of their tusks have deeply disturbed top officials, though the impact of their concern is unclear.
Environmentalists argue that if the forest department truly cared about elephant safety and conservation, such repeated poaching incidents in Athagarh would not be possible. It is widely believed that the poachers are openly challenging forest authorities and succeeding.
In Khuntuni, an elephant was electrocuted after coming in contact with illegal electric fencing set up to protect a cucumber field. A few weeks later, another elephant was killed by poachers in Badamba, and its tusks were looted. Shockingly, the forest department learned of the incident much later. In a related case, an accused named Dhaneshwar died in forest department custody after being allegedly tortured during interrogation—a matter still under investigation.
Yesterday, the forest department recovered the dead body of a tusker from Khuntakata under the Athagarh Forest Division. Preliminary investigation suggested death by electrocution, as its trunk was badly decomposed. However, the final post-mortem report is awaited.
During the tenure of former forest officer Gopinath Sudarshan Yadav, the discovery of elephant skeletons in Badamba and Narsinghpur areas had shocked environmentalists across India. The central government even urged the state for a proper investigation and action. Eventually, Mr. Yadav was transferred from Athagarh.
Recently, Dr. Yajnadatta Pati of the Indian Forest Service took charge of the region. Yet, within a short span, three tuskers have died—some electrocuted, others poached for tusks.
This raises the critical question: Will elephant poaching ever end in Athagarh? Can the forest officials tackle the open challenge posed by poachers? Environmentalists and the general public alike continue to express concern over the repeated elephant deaths in Athagarh and are boldly questioning: If elephants die, what exactly is the forest department doing?
