India News | Orissa HC Expresses Deep Concern over Rising Elephant Deaths
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Orissa High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the rise in elephant deaths across the state, particularly those caused by electrocution, emphasising the need for immediate and effective measures to protect the jumbos.
Cuttack, Nov 26 (PTI) The Orissa High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the rise in elephant deaths across the state, particularly those caused by electrocution, emphasising the need for immediate and effective measures to protect the jumbos.
Acting on a suo motu public interest petition, a division bench headed by Chief Justice C S Singh directed the state's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to submit a comprehensive action plan within 10 days to mitigate the crisis.
The PCCF informed the high court that since 2020, 85 elephants have died due to electrocution, with three such fatalities reported recently in the Sambalpur Nakati Deula range.
The court has also instructed the PCCF to prepare a separate action plan in consultation with the power distribution company to prevent further such incidents.
During the hearing, the Joint Task Force (JTF) informed the court that in the past two months, 18 elephants and 20 people have died.
The JTF also highlighted the need to enhance compensation for victims of human-elephant conflicts, proposing an increase from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, to be disbursed within 40 days of an incident.
On the issue of elephant corridors, the high court was informed that 14 corridors have been identified, of which four have been notified.
(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)