CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, March 24: The elephant-human conflict has been on a rise in Jharkhand in recent times. Around 800 people died in conflict with elephants in the last 11 years whereas 60 elephants died in such conflict over the last eight years. In order to reduce such instances, the Forests, Environment and Climate Change Department, Jharkhand has planned to set up elephant corridors all across Jharkhand.
A senior official from Forests, Environment and Climate Change Department’ has said that the plan to strip plantations on government land to mimic forests will help elephants to move in a safe and convenient manner .
“The pristine forest areas are getting fragmented due to various development projects and its direct impact is seen on animals, such as elephants. So we are planning strip plantations on government land to mimic forests and elephants can move in a very safe and convenient manner,” he said.
As most of the natural habitats have been destroyed due to deforestation, the elephants often come in contact with humans and most of the times it turns out to be a violent affair. The railway tracks constructed near forest areas are usually higher than the ground level which makes it difficult for the elephants to cross the tracks. Such situations lead to trains running over elephants.
Srikant Verma, the Divisional Forest Officer, Ranchi has said that the plan to set up elephant corridors has been implemented and it shall start from the next financial year.
“Currently, we are mapping the historical elephant routes all across the state and the plan is to set up the corridors as near to the conventional routes as possible. This will take a few months time and hopefully this project shall start from next year,” he said.
The Dalapani to Kankrajhore corridor is one of the most important corridors between Singhbhum Elephant Reserve and Mayurjharna Elephant Reserve. The entire herds of elephants use this corridor to enter Mayur jharna during the crop seasons.
Jharkhand has been a hotspot for elephants. But, in the last decade, the increase in unregulated and illegal mining and a number of infrastructural developments have impacted the free movement of elephants. There are around 108 identified elephant corridors, out of which 14 are in Jharkhand. However none of them has been officially notified by the government.
