A frightening incident of man-animal conflict has once again come to light, this time in the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. A woman had to be rescued by forest guards from a herd of elephants near Dugli village of Nagri tehsil. She was rescued in the nick of time, after she strayed into the forest and found herself surrounded by a herd of wild elephants.
THE INCIDENT
The Forest Department had cautioned the people after a herd of 14 elephants was seen roaming in the area. However, despite these warnings, a woman went inside the forest. Some alert villagers informed the forest guards, who promptly reached the spot.
And right on time! The herd had surrounded the woman and one of the elephants had attacked her with his trunk. Just when the elephant was about to trample her on the ground, the guards somehow managed to distract her and pulled the woman out to safety. Then, after much difficulty, they managed to push the herd back deep into the forest. Because of the timely intervention of the guards, the woman escaped with a fracture in her hand.
CAUSES
Ms. Satovisha Samajdar, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Dhamtari district (a 2010 batch IFS officer), while speaking to Indian Masterminds, pointed out that people go inside the forest for two reasons – to encroach, or to ensure that elephants have not entered their fields. She informed that government gives compensation at the rate of 22 thousand per hectare if crops are destroyed by elephants, yet people still go to the forest.
According to the officer, this particular incident is related to encroachment. “When there is a movement of elephants, there is a protocol that no one should go to that area, not even the employees of the forest department. But to save the life of the woman, our team risked their own lives,” she said.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
The only way to prevent such elephant attacks is to stay away from their habitat and follow the guidelines of the Forest Department strictly. “Don’t go to see the elephants. If they are in your field, don’t go to drive them away. No matter how calm they look, if they feel threatened, they will definitely attack,” she cautioned.
The forest department of Dhamtari has a special vehicle called ‘Gajraj’ which is used for the protection of elephants. Special care is taken to keep the herds away from the adjoining villages. At night, watchmen have been instructed to lit small fires and blow sirens if elephants stray into the area.
But, most importantly, the local population has been strictly advised to stay away from elephant’s habitats and corridors. Live and let live. Basically, that’s the rule the people have been told to follow. A thumb rule that holds true for all mankind, in fact!
