Wells remain death traps for jumbos

BHUBANESWAR: Six months ago, the chief wildlife warden of the state had issued a directive to the divisional forest officers (DFOs) asking them to put up barriers around abandoned wells to prevent elephants from falling in. No action has been taken in this regard so far and the wells remain death traps for the pachyderms.
It is mostly calves, separated from the herd, that fall in these abandoned wells. They often die after being left unattended to for long. In the other cases, villagers inform the nearest forest office, which uses excavators to dig the soil and create space for the calf to slide up from the well.

"The stretch of the forest adjoining Athmalik, Athgarh, Dhenkanal and Cuttack is rich in elephants. But these animals face a great danger from abandoned wells. The forest department has resources to stop them from falling in the wells, but the lower-rung officials don't follow instructions," said a wildlife campaigner, Satyanarayan Das.

Besides wells, craters created by mines also pose a threat to elephants.

Secretary of Wildlife Society of Odisha, Biswajit Mohanty, who frequently travels to the elephant-rich areas of the state, said he had not seen a single barricade around any abandoned well. "The directive of the top wildlife officer has been overlooked. I don't know what the DFOs are waiting for. Are they waiting for more elephants to fall in the wells?" he wondered.

In March, the WSO had sent a proposal to the chief wildlife warden about the various ways of barricading or burying abandoned wells. "The department should come up with strict punishment for field officers in case they don't take up such projects within the stipulated time," Mohanty said.

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Sandip Tripathy said fencing work was on in some areas. "The fencing of abandoned wells will be completed by the end of June," he told TOI.


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