Bhopal: Days after the deaths of 10 elephants at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav Sunday announced the suspensions of Bandhavgarh Field Director Gaurav Choudhary and Assistant Conservator of Forest in-charge (ACF) Fateh Singh Ninama.
In a video statement, the CM said, “Field Director Gaurav Choudhary failed in making adequate arrangements for elephant management despite their increasing numbers and persistent challenges in their management.” He added that Choudhary was on leave when the deaths occurred, but when he was called to return to duty, he did not respond and instead switched off his phone.
ACF Ninama was also found shirking responsibility and did not act effectively, he added.
Expressing sadness over the elephant deaths, CM Yadav said the three-member committee that was sent to Bandhavgarh has so far not found any indication of a deliberate attempt to kill the elephants, but yet the final reports to ascertain the exact cause of their deaths is awaited.
The frequency of elephants coming in large herds into Madhya Pradesh is “a new experience for us” and several measures will be taken to manage this, he further said, adding that an ‘elephant task force’ will be formed, which will formulate a policy and study practices in other states that have large elephant populations.
Another suggestion deliberated upon was putting up solar fencing in farms to safeguard the crops and avoid human-elephant conflict. Yadav said a ‘Hathi Mitra Dal’ will be formed, roping in villagers to ensure that both humans and elephants learn to co-exist.
Referring to Saturday’s incident where an elephant attacked three people in two villages near Bandhavgarh, leaving two of them dead, the CM said: “This is a bitter truth but we have to accept it and act accordingly. We have hence announced to increase the compensation from Rs 8 lakhs to 25 lakh for the deceased. We will also incentivise the villagers to earn their livelihood from organic farming instead of conventional farming.”
This particular elephant was captured Sunday, forest officials told ThePrint.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: A team of MP forest officials traced Bandhavgarh elephants’ final hours. Here’s what they found