Awareness drive to save wild pachyderms

 

COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 26: In an aim to save wild elephants from being electrocuted by live wire fencings the forest department started an awareness drive in Dooars. Forest officials hope that the awareness drive may be helpful to draw an end to the menace.

 

Forest division sources said the dwellers of forest-villages and other villages adjacent to forestlands in Dooars very often connect the fencings of their cultivated land with live wire to save the cultivation from the wild elephants. Unaware of the power fencing four wild elephants were electrocuted in last year. After considering all aspects the forest department has adopted a plan to aware the villagers about the conservation of elephants and other wildlife and the punishment for killing these animals.

 

A senior forest division official said the villagers are interested in protecting their cultivation only. They are unaware of the punishment for killing the scheduled wild animals. Once aware of the punishment for the crime they will not dare to commit the crime. The awareness drive was planned mainly to aware the villagers about the punitive measures, the forest official said.

 

At the first phase of the drive the forest officials are teaching the Gram Panchayat pradhans and other Panchayat functionaries about the nature of punishment for killing wild animals and taking power connection from overhead cables by illegal hooking. In the second phase the Panchayat functionaries will convey the warning message to the villagers by organising awareness camps. Forest division officials hope that this step will discourage the villagers from extending power connection to the fencings.

 

The senior forest official said that no such awareness camp was organised in the past to save the wild elephants from being electrocuted. They will continue the drive as an uninterrupted one so that no elephant death occurs in future by electrocution, he added. []