Forest department ups vigil on fires, elephant movement

It is party season for elephants as there is sufficient food inside and outside forests. At the same time, it is a worrisome time for the Forest department to ensure that there are no casualties, forest fire and crop loss.

Elephants have already started coming outside forest areas and raiding crops because there is variety both inside and outside forests. This has put the forest officials on alert. They are also worried as it is also the forest fire season.

The officials are working towards hiring temporary staffers to create fire lines, control forest fire and work towards driving elephants back to the forest.

Heads of divisions are preparing a list of the number of staff needed and the locations where they are required.

Chief wildlife warden C Jayaram said elephants were already being seen on the forest fringes. Though it is an yearly feature, precautions need to be taken.

Anti-depredation camps are being set up and talks have been held with the fire and emergency department for additional staff, equipment and vehicles.

He said the work on creating and maintaining existing rail barricades and elephant proof trenches have intensified. Talks on procuring more rails are on.

The Forest department has estimated that Rs 500 crore is needed to procure and erect rails across vulnerable forest areas. But this year, it has only Rs 13.5 crore to erect rails procured last year.

“The north-east monsoon (also called receding monsoon) has failed this time. The weather is very dry. Reports of grass outside forest areas catching fire have started coming. This could be another reason for elephants to be moving around. However, compared to last October and November, the number of elephants seen outside forests is less.

This is also because the waterholes in core areas are full and undisturbed. The whole of last year, elephants were outside because of severe drought. Reports of elephant attacks had started pouring in by this time.

As news of elephants wandering are being reported, staffers are already on alert to ensure that there are no untoward incidents this year,” said another official.