Baripada: The forest department’s late night bid to shift trained elephants Mahendra and Rajkumar from Similipal to Satkosia sanctuary was foiled when locals and activists of JMM and Congress opposed it and blocked the National Highway-18 for two hours Tuesday. They locked the gate of the Similipal Tiger Project (STP).
The blockade was lifted after local police and sub-collector Mohammed Abdul Akhtar pacified the agitators. The shifting of the elephants has been postponed.
Mahendra and Rajkumar were intended to be deployed in Satkosia sanctuary to keep a track of the movements of the Royal Bengal Tiger, which has been relocated from Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
The two elephants were brought from Similipal forest on June 22 and have been kept at Dhobadiha in Jashipur range. After their health check-up, the forest department had attempted to shift them in heavy vehicles, but the animals could not be pushed into them. At that time, wildlife lovers and others had strongly opposed the move. The shifting was then postponed.
However, the forest department reportedly had made a sudden move at 3 am Monday, and the two elephants were made to shuffle on from the range office amid security cover of a team of forest officials as part of their plan to move them to Satkosia in that manner with mahouts sitting atop the animals.
By 8 am Tuesday, the animals had walked a distance of over 30 km. The animals then crossed Singada Chhak, on the borders of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. On seeing this, locals intercepted the movement of the animals and forest officials. The forest department was forced to stop the shifting of the animals.
On learning this, scores of activists of JMM and Congress led by Kalinga Kehsari Jena (JMM) and Hemanta Kumar Das, president of Congress district unit, rushed to the office of the field director of the STP at 10 am and locked the gate. They agitated against the shifting of the two animals.
At 11.30 am, the agitating JMM and Congress activists blocked NH-18 at Murgabadi Chhak. They submitted a memorandum to the forest officials, seeking immediate halt to the shifting of the elephants.
Ranger Ramakant Majhi admitted that the animals were being shifted to Satkosia with protection by a special team. “At Singada Chhak, locals opposed it. The shifting was postponed. Again the elephants will be brought back to Jashipur,” Majhi added.
PNN