Why does this happen?
“This happens because people and elephants come face to face frequently when Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) like mahua, mango, jackfruit, bael fruit, kaitha (wood apple) and cashew are harvested,” Mohanty told The Hindu.
“This is also the time when kendu leaves are collected by lakhs of tribal women for their livelihood. During summer, elephants also raid villages for stored food grains and liquor,” the study finds.
“The alarming casualty figures, especially during summer, shows that Odisha’s control over human-elephant conflict is dismal though crores of rupees are being spent on mitigation measures,” Mohanty was quoted as saying while alleging that Odisha’s Forest Department had done precious little to contain the rise in human-elephant conflict.
What WSO is doing
The pressure group has asked the Centre’s Project Elephant to intervene in the matter. It has also requested the wildlife wing of the State Forest Department to monitor the awareness drives in high conflict divisions such as Angul, Dhenkanal, Athagarh, Rairakhol, Sambalpur, Athamalik, Keonjhar and Deogarh.
“Fatal encounters with elephants during summer can be easily reduced if locals are cautioned and certain steps are taken. Such repeated human kills can lead to panic reactions and animosity towards elephants. Irate crowds may also react violently to the elephants as well as department staff, and resort to public agitation,” Mohanty told The Hindu.