DEHRADUN: A young elephant died of electrocution in Chilla range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Fortunately other elephants of the herd escaped electrocution, after they moved away on seeing the sparks generating from the high tension wire, in contact of which the unfortunate elephant had come in contact with.
Director of Rajaji, Sanatan told TOI, "In this particular case, the HT wire was at the right height. However the tree under which elephant was standing had got taller and one of its branch got close to HT wire. It is when the elephant tried to eat the bark of the tree, the branch came in touch with the wire and had electric current running into it. So the elephant got electrocuted. Luckily, remaining herd got unscathed."
He said, owing to the township mushrooming across the Rajaji forest, the transmission lines have been drawn over it which is claiming lives of so many elephants quite frequently.
A young tuskar had died due to electrocution by coming in contact with low hanging wires just 300 meter away from Kalagarh area of Corbett Tiger Reserve on Friday night. Though the area fell in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pardesh, however it was elephant from Corbett Tiger Reserve which had strayed into the area to feed into the sugarcane field that got electrocuted. The seriousness from the UP power department to tighten the HT power lines around Corbett is yet to be seen.
Just two month ago, in September, a female elephant and her calf got electrocuted due to low hanging high tension wire inside the core area of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The female got electrocuted when her raised trunk came in contact with low hanging the wire while the calf which due to his natural disposition was walking by sticking to the mother died on the spot in Haridwar range of reserve. The sighting of carcass after 3-4 days of incident also raised question mark over patrolling by forest staff while the electricity department too has come under scanner for keeping HT wire at 13 ft, in contravention to stipulated height of 17 ft inside the reserve. The park officials have booked a case against power dept in this matter under Wildlife Protection Act.
Dinesh Pandey, activist of Wildlife Trust of India said, "The forest staff has miserably failed in doing its duty of patrolling the forest due to which they were not aware of presence of hanging HT lines in the reserve area which cost valuable elephants."
