C’garh turns into deadly electrical trap for elephants
| Date :29-Sep-2020 |
Elephant died of electrocution in Gariyaband.
By Roshan Chachane :
RAIPUR,
With 165 elephant deaths Forest Department and CSPDCL fails to act on HC’s order
Chhattisgarh has been turned into a deadly electrical trap for the elephants as once again an elephant was electrocuted to death by coming in contact of a sagging 11 kilovolt power line at Dhawalpur Range of Gariyaband on Monday morning. It was the second death by electricity within two days and third since September 23, taking the total tally to 165 elephant deaths including 48 by electrocution since the state’s formation. Amidst the pandemic, the year 2020 is also one of the worst times for elephants. The State has recorded deaths of 10 giant pachyderms so far in 2020.
Dharamjaigarh is the deadliest district claiming the lives of 24 elephants, which is around 52 per cent of the total elephants died of electric current. Most recently, in Dharamjaigarh, the male elephant stepped up on a bare power cable laid down on a field and now it’s the low-passing, sagging high-tension power cables and then one jumbo died at Kishanpur of Pithora.
The Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company (CSPDCL) was supposed to spend 1674 crores to fix the low-passing or saggy power lines, but not a single step has been taken by the Company in this direction. The High Court of Chhattisgarh, in 3rd paragraph of order dated March 12, 2019 issued after hearing a petition filed by Nitin Singhvi, had made the following remarks, “The data indicates that maximum number of death of elephants in the State of Chhattisgarh have taken place in the region of Dharamjaigarh. If this is so, then, obviously a closer look would be required by all the stakeholders which includes the forest officials, the officials of the State Government, the local self government and may be even experts in the area to put their head together and focus their attention in the region of Dharamjaigarh that no further instances of death by electrocution would take place of such elephants.
The 8th paragraph of the same order read “Disposal of the petition does not mean that the respondent authorities will go into hibernation. The good work initiated and followed up by them should be carried on, if not for themselves, at least for the next generation.” But the way things are going, officers can’t seem to be doing anything but in Hibernation and they seem to be not at all concerned about preventing instances of deaths by electrocution.
It’s important to note that on June 6, 2016, a range officer of Chhal Range in Dharamjaigarh, on June 6 2016, had served notice to a Sub-Engineer of Chhattisgarh Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) and CSPDCL Kharsiya Assistant Engineer after the death of a cow elephant owing to saggy high-tension power line. Forest Department, ever since, gave five letters, asking CSPDCL to fix the saggy power lines, but all in vain.