Dhalbhum foresters to build water bodies on jumbo corridor

JAMSHEDPUR: The forest department will augment water bodies this year to ensure herds of elephants on the dedicated corridor between Jharkhand and West Bengal do not descend to the foothills in search of water


Coming in the backdrop of three elephant-related casualties in the last two months in the foothill areas of Dhalbhum subdivision, the department said it will construct two check dams this year and four next year. "The two check dams will be constructed in the Ghatshila side (Chekam and Narsingpur) in the next few months," said Dhalbhum divisional forest officer (DFO) Saba Alam Ansari.

The department is scouting for the site for the construction of the other four check-dams in the Charchakka forest in Ghatshila which is part of the corridor used by elephants to travel between Dalma and West Midnapore in West Bengal. "We have more than 25 water natural and artificial sources of water on the corridor, but we have decided to increase the number of the man-made water bodies as part of the project," Ansari said.

Every year, elephants destroy crops in the villages located on the edge of the corridor spread across Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha. "Existing water bodies on the corridor have sufficient water level for the elephants," Ansari said, adding that nearly 70% of the existing water bodies has water available round the year. "We have also improved the approach paths leading to the natural and artificial water bodies," Ansari said.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jamshedpur/dhalbhum-foresters-to-build-water-bodies-on-jumbo-corridor/articleshow/64790795.cms

Jumbo task in tiger hunt

A herd of more than 20 elephants went on the rampage in the forests near Lalgarh, destroying two of the hidden cameras that had photographed a tiger in the area on Friday.

Six cameras remain but none is safe with the elephants around. The elephants that entered Jhargram around 48 hours ago could scare the tiger and drive it away to another forest, wildlife officials said.

The forest department laid two traps with live bait for the tiger on Sunday but now capturing the animal seems a daunting task.

"Capturing a tiger is in itself a tough job. But we had zeroed in on a broad location. The elephants have made things even more challenging. We might have to expand the area of operation," said Ravikant Sinha, the chief wildlife warden of Bengal.

Two of the elephants, one of them a tusker, were separated from the herd and ran amok in nearby villages and Lalgarh town.

"The elephants uprooted several trees and trampled over small bushes and twigs. The cameras were placed inside tree trunks and other hidden spots," said Rabindranath Saha, the divisional forest officer of Midnapore. "They destroyed potato farms and crushed two-wheelers. The walls of a few buildings were also damaged."

Forest officials and villagers managed to drive the elephants back into the forest by evening.

Elephants from Jharkhand's Dalma region often enter Jhargram but the presence of the tiger in the jungle has complicated things this time.

No fresh pug marks were spotted in Melkhedia jungle on Sunday, prompting some officials to suspect that the predator may have moved to Kamrangi forest, less than 5km from Lalgarh. "Kamrangi forest is covered with layers of dried sal leaves. It will be difficult to trace pug marks there," said Saha.

 Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcutta/jumbo-task-in-tiger-hunt-213252