3 elephants died in past 48 hours in Odisha: Officials

One of the tuskers died after being hit by a speeding truck carrying iron ore, another died of bullet injuries and a baby elephant died after being electrocuted, said officials

Published on: Dec 27, 2023, 14:59:59 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Three elephants have died in the past 48 hours in three separate incidents in Odisha, officials aware of the matter said. One of the tuskers died after being hit by a speeding truck carrying iron ore, another died of bullet injuries and a baby elephant died after being electrocuted, said officials.

According to the forest department, the first incident took place on national highway-49 near Kantabahal village in Keonjhar district on Tuesday night. The truck carrying iron was en route to Pallahara when it hit the elephant while it was crossing the highway. The tusker fell but stood up some time later and began walking, however, collapsed to death after walking a few steps, a forest department official said.

The forest department has detained the truck driver.

In the second incident, an elephant, who was being treated for a bullet injury by a veterinary team from Nandankanan Zoological Park, succumbed to its injuries on Wednesday morning. The tusker was allegedly shot by in his leg in the Ranpur Forest range of Nayagarh district, said officials.

In a separate incident, a five-year-old tusker was electrocuted to death on Monday night in the Rasol area of Dhenkanal district. The incident occurred when the young tusker came into contact with a live wire, dangling from an 11 KV line, said the forest department officials. The carcass was discovered by forest officials during their morning patrol.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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