BHUBANESWAR: Amid the worrisome scenario of human-elephant conflict in the state, the Voice for Asian Elephants Society (VFAES) and Odisha-based Paribartan have identified two corridors where they will support the state government in the large-scale plantation that will act as a buffer zone for jumbos and prevent them from entering habitations in search of food.
Hadgarh-Kuldiha and Telkoi-Pallahara are the two corridors where the sapling plantations will be taken up. The Hadgarh-Kuldia corridor, a part of the Mayurbhanj elephant reserve, has been declared recently as the state’s first conservation forest to protect the habitat, while conservationists said, the Telkoi-Pallahara corridor in Keonjhar division has been witnessing a gradual spurt in conflict due to rampant mining and other development activities.
Addressing a conclave on ‘saving Asian elephant by creating sustainable communities’ VFAES founding executive director Sangita Iyer said they have already collaborated with the Forest department to take up projects to reduce conflict and promote peaceful coexistence.
Billboards have been installed in at least 16 places in Dhenkanal, while T-shape barriers have been created around abandoned wells in elephant movement areas, she said. Stating that Odisha is the fifth largest state in the country in terms of the elephant population, she called for their immediate protection. She pointed out it is the responsibility of mining companies to rejuvenate the land after mining.