Even though the Athagarh Forest Division remains to be a rich wildlife zone in the State, the number of elephants in the forest circle has been dwindling since 2007 due to non-execution of animal protection-related laws and insufficient facilities.
The Athagarh forest area which stretches over 50,451 hectares of land has 114 jumbos as per 2015 census against 131 in 2012, 133 in 2010 and 139 in 2007.
The Forest Division comes under the notified Mahanadi Elephant Reserve and elephants population is found in all its five ranges, Athagarh, Khuntuni, Baramba, Narsinghpur (east) and Narsinghpur (west). About 25 pachyderms from the Chandaka sanctuary cross over the Mahanadi River near Devidwar of Damapada and enter into the Athagarh Forest Division near Baghera village and stay there for months and move from Sukasan RF to Boudabanakhandi, Khalakhala, Oringa, Subasi, Brahmanabasta, Suniamuhan, Boula and Sankhapol RFs in regular intervals.
For their protection, the Government spends crores of rupees by making plans and programmes and appointing officers and providing compensations to farmers for loss of crops by the elephants from time to time.
But all these efforts go futile when poachers become active and kill these animals and when they (jumbos) are electrocuted or die in rail accident or due to ailments.
A recent study revealed that the last five years witnessed 46 elephants died either due to managerial inefficiency. The man-elephant conflict in this forest area is on the rise as pachyderms come out of the jungle for multiple reasons, high fences erected by industrial units, unavailability of adequate drinking water and foods, forest fire and irritation by poachers and enter into the cornfields, National Highways and the villages where they confront with the men.
As this forest division lacks infrastructural, trained and rational employees and funds for round-the-clock patrolling, the man-elephant conflicts increases here.
When asked, DFO Arun Mishra said infrastructure like barracks, anti-poaching camps in vulnerable areas, watch towers and communication facilities should be there for protection of elephants. These systems need adequate funds, he pointed out.
Besides, he said round-the-clock patrolling and deployment of different squads like anti-poaching, anti-depredation and protection squads needs to be in the critically endangered areas. Besides, var ious equipment like trackers, tranquilazation equipment, binoculars, digital cameras, search lights, night vision equipments, drums and megaphones and creation of massive awareness programmes are necessary to curb man-elephant conflict and elephant poaching, he said.
