Uproar in West Bengal’s Jhargram over death of pregnant elephant by burning spear

Members of the Kurmi Samaj and local residents took out protest rallies in Jhargram, demanding resignation of the state Forest Minister. The department, on the other hand, has vowed a “strict action” in the matter.

Rajesh Mahato, state president of the Kurmi Samaj, said over phone, “The state Forest Department is responsible for this tragic incident. The ‘Hula’ parties are untrained youths who are employed by the state department to drive away elephants. No one has been arrested so far.

“The government has no plan for wild animals that enter urban areas and villages in search of food. Elephants are dying for no reason. Where will the wild animals go?” he asked.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Minister of Forest (Independent Charge) Birbaha Hansda said, “It is a heart-wrenching incident. We consider elephants as part of our family. I am personally very sad. Those who have done this will be arrested soon.”

“I have already held meetings with officials. Whenever there is a drive to move elephants from an urban or semi-urban area, thousands of locals gather. We have decided to take action against any such person who enters 500 metres of the place where such a drive is going on,” added Hansda.

Aritra Kshettry, national lead for Elephant Conservation, WWF-India, said, “The co-occurence of people and elephants in the southern districts of Bengal leads to damages to both people and elephants. In the short term, it would be good to sensitise local teams on safe animal handling and deterrence methods, drawing on experience from northern Bengal and other parts of India. At the same time, other government departments need to be involved for effective crowd control during elephant emergencies.”

Members of the Kurmi Samaj and local residents took out protest rallies in Jhargram, demanding resignation of the state Forest Minister. The department, on the other hand, has vowed a “strict action” in the matter. (Express Photo)

Aritra Kshettry, National Lead for Elephant Conservation, WWF-India, noted that the co-existence of people and elephants in the southern districts of West Bengal leads to “damage” for both. (Video screengrab)“Long-term measures need to include enriching viable habitats in the region and deploying effective and efficient early-warning systems to prevent elephant entry into densely populated areas,” he added.

On August 15, a large number of people gathered at the spot where the elephants had taken refuge. One of the members of the ‘Hula party’ threw a burning spear that got stuck on the back of the female elephant that writhed in pain before collapsing. The elephant was tranquilised and taken away by the Forest Department officials. It died later. It was found during the post-mortem examination that the animal was pregnant. The Forest Department has lodged a police complaint in the matter.