THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Dec 7: The Jharkhand HoFF (head of the forest force) and principal chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden Satyajit Singh, in his courtesy visit to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, apprised him of the pervasive issue of the elephant man conflict in the state.
Satyajit Singh today told The Jharkhand Story correspondent that “The chief minister was awfully busy on Friday. He had his cabinet expansion. He had his cabinet meeting. Despite all these hectic schedules, the chief minister was most gracious to hear me most patiently. He gave me a very positive hearing.”
“I apprised the chief minister of the issue of the elephant-human conflict. The chief minister looked most concerned and asked me to go about it in a manner which is mitigational as well as without hampering the course of the elephant movement,” said the HoFF.
Satyajit Singh further said, “I further apprised the chief minister of our integrated plan to combat elephant-human conflict. I told the chief minister that we have our reports to this effect from all the regions where the danger of the elephant-human conflict lurks. The chief minister taking keen interest asked me to pursue it in the right earnest.”
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Reminded that it’s not only the elephants of Jharkhand that cause damage and destruction of property and life but there come hordes of the elephants from states like West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh so how to tackle it, to which Satyajit Singh said, “The West Bengal forest department has dug up EPT (elephant proof trench) on its land bordering Jharkhand’s Bahragora Chakuliya and this has serious repercussions for the movement of the elephants here. You shouldn’t raise such a blockade to the movement of the elephants. Let there be no deviation of the course of the movement of the elephants.”
“I have taken up this issue with West Bengal PCCF cum chief wildlife warden Debal Ray telling him how such EPT will upset the course of the movement of the elephants which will not be in any interest of both the states,” added the HoFF.
Winter is the season when elephants and humans become untrustworthy to each other. Elephants raid the crops and finish them. Humans curse them for making them poorer in terms of grains.
It’s the winter of elephants’ conflict because paddy is all around. Elephants have a pretty obsessive taste for paddy. There was a poor family under the Betla range of the PTR which had kept silver ornaments in the bags of paddy which the elephants gulped down. The poor family never saw the silver ornaments again that it had readied and saved for the daughter’s marriage. This complaint is nearly 7 or 8 years old and the files of the Betla range would prove it, if the files were not consigned to oblivion.
