Nature in distress

D N Singh

There is a raging debate throughout the country over the increased conflict between man and animal. And, there is no denying the fact that the mysterious disorder in the climatic regime has pushed the problem of ecological imbalance back to the centre stage. Many instances in the past and the recent past should have served as a reminder for the planners and people in general to assess as to where things have gone wrong. But the fact remains that some wrongs can be corrected, while others are incorrigible! The state of Orissa seems complacent and far removed from such debates. The painful instances of death of animals or humans are passed off as a routine chronology of events. The planners comfortably tuck them under the table of statistics. In a state where the Chief Minister himself is in-charge of the forest and environment sector, expectation is bound to be high. But the bottom reality is discouraging. Ironically, right under the nose of his ministry, about 20 km from the capital, a critical situation is building up that puts the pachyderm population as well as many human lives at risk. It may sound incredulous but since last fortnight, about 40 elephants out of total 67 elephants from the adjacent Chandka Elephant Sanctuary are out in the open. Once in the open, clashes with humans are inevitable. They kill or get killed, raze crops till they get chased out with serious injuries. During last fortnight, five elephants died in mysterious circumstances while two people were trampled to death. But the stance of authorities indicates that there is no need for any debate or probe to detect the reasons behind such mishap. The elephant reserves of Orissa are home to the largest population of central India wild elephants. Out of the total elephant population of 2500-3000 in central India, Orissa harbours about 1800. But, as may be in other habitats, the elephants here are fighting a losing battle. They are victim of a system, which refuses to balance development and environment. The causes, so loud and clear include rapid depletion of forest cover – the habitats of the wildlife species. Within the last five years, the state has witnessed 187 human casualties due to the conflicts and more than 256 wild tuskers have lost their lives. The issue lies not only in the increasing figure of casualties, but what bothers the environmentalists or animal lovers is the complacency of authorities over such tragic events. Shortage of food stock often drives wild animals to look for greener pastures and such inclination is more compelling for larger species like elephant. They are, in fact, migratory in nature and the forest corridors are the essential conduits they use to go to other areas. But, in case of Orissa, what is appalling is that in the major elephant reserves like, Chandka, Simlipal, Lakhari and Hadgarh etc, not only the forests are vanishing but most of the corridors have been sacrificed on the altar of development. For instance, Chandka elephant reserve has been turned into an island; cut off from all sides and its close precincts honeycombed by a cluster of 56 villages, which is home to about two lakh human population. Not a single day passes without plunder of the rich biomass of the elephant habitat by about five hundred people from these villages. The scene is no less discouraging in other habitats like Satkoshia, Hadgarh, Lakhari and Keonjhar etc. In fact, except Simlipal the pachyderms in rest of the habitats have been pushed to the wall. The Satkoshia sanctuary in Angul district has over the years become an easy target of poachers. On an average, one tusker falls to the poachers` bullet almost every month. The creation of the task force under the aegis of the State Crime Branch has proved to be too tentative a solution in protecting the animals. In the Keonjhar district, the reality would be disturbing for any animal lover. The wild elephants are living a life of hide and seek. Increasing mining and industrial activities form a priority for the state government. The wild elephants scattered over many blocks of Keonjhar forest can be seen frequenting the human habitats for food. Do not be surprised if you come across a wild elephant seizing food from parked trucks or from the roadside `dhabas’ in broad day light. What seems evident is that these idyllic reposes may not last long nor would the pachyderms. If anything would remain, it will be a concrete monster city and hidden beneath it would be the remains of age-old friends of humans.