Bhopal:
Two senior forest officers of Madhya Pradesh have been suspended for alleged negligence of their duties after the loss of life of 10 elephants on the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Assistant Forest Conservator Fateh Singh Ninama and Subject Director Gaurav Chaudhary have been faraway from their posts as a result of failures in management and vigilance.
The suspensions come after a number of allegations, together with delayed response occasions and an absence of oversight to essential incidents involving elephant welfare within the reserve.
Subject Director Gaurav Chaudhary confronted suspension for failing to return from depart when knowledgeable concerning the elephant deaths. Mr Ninama was accused of failing to take proactive measures regardless of earlier elephant sightings.
Final 12 months additionally three workers from the tiger reserve have been suspended — Officer Shil Sindhu Shrivastava and Forest Guards Kamla Prasad Kol and Pushpendranath Mishra. That they had stored silent concerning the discovery of a useless elephant and burnt the carcass.
The matter turned recognized solely when {a photograph} of the burning carcass went viral, and a wildlife activist filed a proper grievance.
Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has now fashioned a state-level elephant job drive.
This physique goals to determine “Elephant Pals” in districts that promotes elephant-human coexistence.
Among the many preventive measures introduced are photo voltaic fences to guard crops and efforts to contain farmers in various livelihoods, equivalent to agroforestry, to mitigate crop harm.
Dr Yadav underscored the necessity for sustainable forest improvement that might assist foster concord between native communities and wildlife.
The state authorities has additionally initiated discussions with the Union Atmosphere Minister to hunt help for forest administration methods and combine greatest practices from different states recognized for elephant administration.
Acknowledging the severity of the scenario, the Chief Minister expressed his deep concern over the current deaths in Umaria district, describing the incident as each tragic and preventable.
Following an inspection by the State Forest Minister and senior officers, preliminary investigations dominated out pesticide involvement, although the total autopsy report continues to be pending.
Dr Yadav has directed the forest division to map agricultural areas and implement safeguards, together with photo voltaic fencing, to guard crops and cut back human-animal battle.
To enhance elephant administration in Madhya Pradesh, officers will go to Karnataka, Kerala, and Assam – states recognized for his or her important elephant populations and profitable conservation practices. These research excursions goal to offer insights into sustainable administration practices that may very well be utilized in Bandhavgarh and different areas the place elephants now reside completely.
The federal government has considerably raised compensation for human casualties as a result of elephant encounters, growing help for affected households from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Lone elephants that separate from their herds might be radio-tagged to make sure monitoring and forestall future incidents.