Odapada: A four-member committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) conducted a probe into the tragic electrocution of seven elephants at Kamalanga village under Kantabania police limits in Dhenkanal district Tuesday.
The panel led by PCCF Sandip Tripathy and comprising Bibhas Pandav, Noel Thomas and Gopinath visited the mishap site and examined the overhead high tension wires that led to casualties.
After conducting an independent probe, the committee members met the forest and energy department officials apart from interacting with local residents. Besides, the panel also sought reports from various departments on which it will prepare an independent report and submit it to the NGT.
The committee members observed that high tension wires have been sagging at many places in Dhenkanal district posing a serious threat to elephants.
This has come to the notice of the tribunal which has asked the authorities concerned to repair the sagging wires and free the elephant corridors of any danger.
The committee members asked the forest and energy department officials to observe extreme caution and avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.
DFO Sudarshan Patra, ACF Sudarshan Das, ranger Darshania Bhoi, CESU executive engineer Swapnasarit Mishra and other officials were present during the visit of the NGT committee.
Seven elephants, including a tusker and five females, were electrocuted as they came in contact with an 11-KV transmission line on the banks of Rengali south sub-canal near Kamalanga village under Sadar forest range and Odapada block in Dhenkanal district in the wee hours of October 27.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the Opposition parties with both the Congress and the BJP accusing the state government of ‘utter negligence’.
The Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident by the state Crime Branch while three staffers of the energy and forest departments have been arrested on the charges of dereliction of duty.
PNN