State lost 245 elephants in three years, says minister.

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State lost 245 elephants in 3 years,says minister.

      The state has lost 245 elephants in three years from 2019-20 to 2021-22, which is more than 80 jumbos per year,the forest minister Pradip Amat told the assembly while admitting that six of the animals have fallen prey to poachers during the period.

   The minister was responding to a question of Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik,who wanted to know how many elephants and tigers died in different forests of the state in the past three years.He also wanted to know about poachers and wildlife articles seized from them.

   "Between 2019-20 and 2021-22,as many as 245 elephants have died with six being killed by poachers.No tiger in this period has been killed," the minister replied.His reply revealed that 43 poachers have been arrested and 39 tusks seized in three years.

        Wildlife enthusiasts said while carcasses of elephants being burnt and buried secretly brought a bad name to the forest department, the arrest of nine forrest personnel, including two senior ones recently in connection with the murder of a suspected poacher and a whistle -blower recently had further discredited the forest force.

     "The frequent incidents of man killing elephants and elephant trampling people make the state a hotspot of man-animal conflict.Some-where, the forest forces top brass is ignoring strict supervision of the work of field personnel.Secondly, the department should be transparent in its work and conduct biennial elephant census,which has not been done since 2017,"said wildlife campaigner Biswajit Mohanty.

     The data of Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO),a private body for wildlife conservation, revealed in 2019-20, the annual human casualty in elephant attacks had crossed 100, highest ever since man-elephant conflict came into force in 1982.

   In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the total human casualty came close to 200.

  In 13 years,since April 2010,close to 1,100 elephants have died in the state.

   In another reply to Badasahi MLA Sanatan Bijuli, the forest minister said through Integrated Wildlife Management System, automatic SMS is being generated to elephant-prone districts to alert people.

   "There is 24x7 toll-free number (18003456771) to receive complaints of elephant menace and inform villagers on do's and don'ts.Besides, elephant trenches are being dug to check straying of jumbos into human habitation," said the minister,adding that for loss of paddy of one acres,Rs 10,000 compensation is being given to people and for damage to vegetable cultivation,Rs 12,000 per acre is being given.