Jharkhand distributes mobile phones to tackle elephant havoc

"Mobiles are being distributed to one member of the Joint Forest and Village Defence Committee (JFVDC) of each village. The mobile has all the relevant numbers of the Forest

department so that the officials can be informed about the movement of rampaging elephants," Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) A.K. Singh told IANS.

"We have also constituted flying squads who rush to villages where elephant movements are seen. The  squads  drive away the elephants to save the villagers," he added.

The mobile phone distribution schemes   was launched early this month.

Over 100 mobile sets have been distributed. The Forest department has listed 600 villages
where wild elephants have been creating havoc. One mobile phone will be distributed in each of these villages.

Around 679 people have been trampled to death and 1,020 have been injured by wild elephants since November 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Ninety elephants have died during the same period due to poaching and electrocution.