Elephant reserve withdrawal angers environmentalists

Statesman News Service August 1, 2007 BHUBANESWAR, Aug. 1: Environmentalists today accused the state government for “falling prey to a conspiracy by the mining and industries lobby” and withdrawing two elephant reserve proposals. The proposals pending notification were suddenly withdrawn by the government, charged Mr Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife activist and secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa. The Centre had already approved of the proposals for South Orissa elephant reserve (ER) and the Baitarani elephant reserve (ER). But now the state government has now asked the centre to drop the proposals, he said. Orissa has more than 90 per cent of eastern India’s elephant population, including a good proportion of breeding adult tuskers, thereby making it a very important state for elephant conservation in the country. The state’s elephant population of 1,862 shall be seriously threatened by this disastrous move as mega bauxite and iron ore mines and metal industries proposed to come up in these areas will find it easy to obtain clearance without an assessment of their impact on wild elephants For the full story click on the blog title