Odisha MLA walks 7 km to see destruction caused by elephant raids from Jharkhand

The MLA said she walked on the request of the villagers, who were aggrieved over the elephant herd trampling vegetable plantations and paddy fields. The herd of elephants had also damaged a local temple.

Published on: Jan 23, 2021, 10:10:02 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty | Edited by Abhinav Sahay, Bhubaneswar

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A Biju Janata Dal MLA walked for about 7 km with at least 200 local villagers in tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district to see the destruction caused by a herd of 24 elephants from Jharkhand for a better appreciation of the villagers’ plight.

Basanti Hembram said she had not been forced to walk by the villagers. (HT Photo)

Karanjia MLA Basanti Hembram was on her way to the district headquarter town of Baripada Friday morning, when over 200 people from 4-5 villages of Biunria, Nakudmata, Kunjia and Tato stopped her vehicle. The villagers, since morning, had laid a siege to NH 200 connecting Ranchi to Vijaywada at Tato chhak, demanding compensation for the damages to their paddy fields as well as houses, caused by elephant depredation.

"We have been protesting against elephant depredation caused over the last 4-5 months and (we) surrounded the local forest range office at Dudhiani, demanding an end to elephant menace as well as immediate compensation. But nothing happened. When we saw the MLA passing by, we asked her to see our difficulties first-hand. Luckily, she agreed to go with us," said Namita Naik, a villager.

The MLA then walked with the villagers to Kadamuda village, a distance of about 7 km to see the destruction caused by the elephant herd from Jharkhand.

"No one forced me to walk to the village. When I saw the protesting villagers, I got down from my vehicle to listen to their grievances. Their grievances are genuine. The forest department officials should have been a little more responsive to their demands," said Hembram.

The MLA said the villagers were aggrieved over the elephant herd trampling vegetable plantations as well as paddy fields. The herd of elephants had also damaged a local temple. "I discussed with the local forest officials on how to drive away the herd tonight so that the villagers can be saved. I have also taken up the matter with the local forest officials for speedy compensation," she said.

Also Read: Odisha BJP protests ‘shoddy’ paddy procurement, govt suspends 15 officials

With elephant corridors getting squeezed due to mining and rapid industrialisation, man-elephant conflicts have gone up sharply in Odisha over the last 3-4 years with more and more elephants straying to human habitations for food, resulting in casualties on both sides.

In 2020-21, at least 52 elephants have died in human-elephant conflicts while 83 people have been trampled to death by elephant herds.

In Sambalpur district, a female elephant, aged about 12 years, was electrocuted in a forest in Jujumura area on Friday after coming in contact with a live 11kv transmission line. Sambalpur DFO said a tree, believed to have been broken by another elephant, sagged the transmission line, which touched the elephant's trunk.

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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