As the joint forces and Maoist rebels fight out a bloody war in the forests of Jangalmahal, at least 80 elephants have been trapped in the crossfire.
They had come down from the Dalma forest in August, following a timeless routine. Only this time, they are not sure they would be able to return home. And if they don’t, it would mean mayhem. For elephants, they say, do not forgive such encroachment.
The herd has already failed its deadline of taking the return route by a fortnight and this has left forest officials tense. It is not that they hadn’t tried to leave at the nature-appointed time of end-February, but the ongoing armed strife at Lalgarh and Kantapahari intimidated them so much that they stalled the retreat towards Dalma in Jharkhand and once again started moving back into Bengal.
They are scared, angry and hungry and have already started to show their ire. With 15 people killed in West Midnapore and Bankura, 2,000 hectares of land bearing crops ravaged and 1,500 village huts razed, the state forest department is not taking a chance.
The officials in the western circle of the department, along with local tribals from the Forest Protection Committee and the Elephant Squad, are desperately trying to coax and cajole the herd not to “lose its cool” and cross over from the Bankura-Burdwan border, where they are stationed now, into Durgapur. A herd of 80 elephants running amok on the heavily inhabited Durgapur roads is the forest department’s worst nightmare coming true.
The next five days are crucial — when the herd bides its time at Gangajal Ghati, the banks of the Damodar on the Bankura-Burdwan border. “We are trying our best to ensure that the herd doesn’t cross Damodar and enter Durgapur. As things stand now, there is a 50-50 chance of the herd not returning to Dalma and that means serious trouble,” said V K Yadav, deputy chief wildlife warden (Western circle).
The normal return route of these elephants is Nayagram-Chandra-Katapahari-Lalgarh-Belpahari-Bhulabheda and back to Dalma. This time the herd, that has seven calves in tow — all of whom were born after the herd had reached Bengal last year — went from Nayagram to Chandra, but were unable to enter Kantapahari and Lalgarh. This is partially due to the operation of the joint forces in these two places and partially due to the fact that these forests are no longer lonely and conducive for movements of wild animals. The Maoists have gradually spread their tentacles in the forests which are now teeming with military activities that include setting up of landmines.
“Elephants are sensitive creatures, who have sensed that the forests will no longer offer safe passage. My guess is that they will not venture back into their usual return route now and will look for an alternative one,” Yadav said.
When the herd turned back from Kantapahari and Lalgarh, it split into two groups and moved into Hoomgarh and Garbeta, which is on the Bankura border. They converged after crossing Garbeta and moved together into Bishnupur, Jaipur and Sonamukhi in Bankura, wreaking havoc all the way.
“It is extremely hot in Bankura, with the temperature bordering on 40 degrees, where the herd is stationed now. This is making them uneasy and wild. They make a punctual February retreat into Dalma in order to avoid the Bengal heat and scanty forest cover. If they have still not crossed into the deep Dalma forests, it means trouble,” said S K Sharma, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Jharkhand.
In Orissa, which is also affected by Maoist activities, elephants are feeling the heat. “One of the main causes of the rising man-elephant conflicts in areas like Daringbadi (in Kandhamal district) and Redhakhol (in Sambalpur district) is the increasing extremist activities in the nearby forests,” said former state chief wildlife warden Bijay Ketan Patnaik.
“Maoists used to burst crackers to drive out elephants in forests in Kotagarh (in Kandhamal). This perhaps had irritated the pachyderms, resulting in the wild animals making frequent forays into villages in Daringbadi and causing serious loss to life and property,” a forest department official explained.
Moreover, the erratic elephant behaviour in Lakhari sanctuary in Gajapati district and their frequent entry in jungles of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is also seen to be rooted perhaps in Maoist operations inside the forests. PCCF (wildlife) P N Padhi said a scientific study is yet to be conducted.
Along with the usual tactics of trying to guide the herd back by using the hullah party, torches and battery-operated powerful lights, the elephant squad is trying to “reason” with the elephants, lest they cross the Damodar. The leaders of the herd are being “requested” to take the Goaltore route back. While they are likely to avoid the Goaltore-Kantapahari-Lalgarh-Belpahari-Bhulebheda-Dalma route, the elephant squad is “suggesting” the alternative route of Goaltore-Sarenga-Belpahari route. “We are not sure that the herd will accept our suggestion, but we are trying our best. We will guide them all along till they cross over from Bhulabheda into Dalma,” Yadav said.
Elephant expert Parbati Baruah agrees that the insurgency can indeed be a severe threat to elephants. “They have been traditionally using this route from Dalma to south Bengal and it needs great negotiating power and skill to manoeuvre them into an alternative route.
It seems that the herd is agitated about not being able to return on time because the forest is now infested with “foreigners”. “It is a matter of concern because it involves safe passage for a herd of 80 elephants, whose forest rights need to be protected,” Baruah said. She offered to help if the state seeks it, like it did in 1988 when a similar herd had strayed into Midnapore town.
They don’t know what the Maoists are fighting for; they don’t know why the state has to fight a war against its enemies; they just seek justice — the right to go back home.
News courtesy : Times of India; by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey (With inputs from Jaideep Deogarhia and Sandeep Mishra)
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T
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