Elephant Deaths In Bandhavgarh: 2 Officials Suspended, MP CM Says Task Force Soon

Bhopal: After the death of 10 elephants in a span of three days in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav underlined the need for an elephant task force, radio tracking and a long-term plan with the help of wildlife experts to avoid a repeat of jumbo deaths and attacks on humans."The elephants coming from other states, including Chhattisgarh, are not turning back due to the good environs and management of our parks. They have become an integral part of MP forest activities. Keeping this in mind, we have to look for a lasting plan for them," Mohan Yadav told PTI. "We have decided to form an elephant task force to safely accommodate them. We will come up with a long-term plan comprising the best practices of other states, including Karnataka, Kerala and Assam that have huge jumbo populations. We are going to send our officers to these states," he said.On October 29, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khalil range of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve reserve in Umaria district, while four died on October 30 and two on October 31. Meanwhile on Saturday, two persons were killed and one injured in an elephant attack in the area. "In order to avoid man-animal conflicts, solar fencing will be installed around agriculture farms. This is so that the elephants do not destroy crops. The state government has decided to employ radio (collar) tracking of lone elephants that do not move in herds. This will ensure there is no repeat (of Saturday's incident in which two persons were killed by an aggressive tusker)," he added. BTR director Gaurav Choudhary and in charge assistant conservator of forests Fateh Singh Ninama were placed under suspension in connection with the death of the 10 elephants. The two were suspended based on the report of a panel comprising MP junior forest minister Pradeep Ahirwar, additional chief secretary Ashok Baranwal and head of Forest Force Aseem Shrivastava.Earlier, a senior veterinarian connected to the probe cited staffers at the reserve and said the elephants fell to the ground and shivered before dying. A ground duty officer said the forest department has identified six farmers from whose field the jumbos ate kodo millets, adding reports will clarify if any pesticide was mixed or sprayed on the crop.(With PTI Inputs)