India News | Man-elephant Conflicts Claimed 474 Lives in Jharkhand Since 2019-20: Official
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand have claimed as many as 474 lives over a span of five years since the 2019-20 fiscal, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Ranchi, Feb 11 (PTI) Man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand have claimed as many as 474 lives over a span of five years since the 2019-20 fiscal, a senior official said on Tuesday.
A total of 87 lives were lost due to such incidents in 2023-24, lower than the figure of 2022-23 and 2021-22 when the state witnessed the deaths 96 and 133 people, respectively, as per the data tabled by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Parliament on Monday, he said.
Jharkhand stands second across the country in terms of fatalities due to man-elephant conflicts after Odisha, which recorded 624 deaths during the period.
“In a bid to minimise the fatalities, the forest department has initiated several measures, such as setting up quick response teams (QRT) in every district and preparing region-wise action plans,” Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Jharkhand, S R Natesh, told PTI.
He said most deaths that take place in such conflicts are accidental. “We are spreading awareness at the village level to contain casualties,” Natesh said.
Altogether 17 elephant corridors have been identified in Jharkhand so far, the official said.
“The corridors will be developed for smooth elephant movement. We have also sent proposals to the Centre for an additional 50 corridors,” he said.
Natesh said work on rail and road underpasses is also underway.
“Out of the six regions, plans for five regions have already been made. We have also signed an agreement with the Wildlife Trust of India, which would provide expertise in the action plan and implementation,” he said.
According to wildlife experts, unplanned development work, mining activities, unregulated grazing, forest fires and food scarcity are the major reasons for rising man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)