With Haridwar bracing for the proposed Ardh Kumbh, the forest department has launched a special operation to track “devil commanders” — rogue elephants leading herds from jungles into human settlements. Officials call it a “Herculean task” as the mela is expected to draw crores of devotees.
Despite being an Ardh Kumbh, the state is making Mahakumbh-level arrangements for security, traffic, housing and safety. But one challenge refuses invitation and ignores orders: elephant herds migrating from forests to populated areas.
Forest officials say the biggest concern is the “Gajraj gangs” active in Haridwar division and adjoining areas. Several groups routinely leave forests to raid fields, villages and towns. Some elephants have become so habituated that human habitations and farmland now attract them more than jungles.
The department’s strategy hinges on identifying herd leaders. “We believe monitoring the leaders, the commander elephants, is most crucial to control these groups,” officials said. This time, the entire khaki brigade is tracking the movements of these “rogue commanders” to foil their plans before damage is done.
A one-tusked tusker has become notorious among Haridwar residents. Listed as extremely mischievous in forest records, it has been spotted multiple times in populated areas and triggered human-elephant conflict situations. The department has identified and tagged it for special surveillance ahead of Kumbh.
Haridwar Division DFO Swapnil Aniruddh told this newspaper, “Identification of several elephants has been completed. Now, with the help of expert institutions, a detailed study of the behaviour of these elephants will be conducted.”
Around 30 elephants active in and around the Haridwar Kumbh area have been marked. Many are known for destroying standing crops.
Wildlife expert and former deputy director of the forest department Rangnath Pandey told TNIE, “Due to continuous interference in elephants’ natural corridors, they face difficulty moving from one place to another. Consequently, they are forced to pass through villages and towns. This is why it is counted among the state’s most sensitive zones in terms of human-elephant conflict.”