Saranda and Rourkela forest divisions have joined forces to protect elephants from poachers who are active in the region.

The recent death of two elephants by electrocution, including a tusker, in Keonjhar (Odisha), has prompted the two forest divisions to work in tandem. They will be tasked with tracking and capturing poachers in the Sal-rich forests of Saranda in West Singhbhum, and bordering pockets of Rourkela. Tusks of the male elephant killed in keonjhar were found missing, indicating the involvement of poachers.

Saranda divisional forest officer Rajneesh Kumar and his Rourkela counterpart Sanjay Swain held a meeting earlier this week and discussed inter-state joint border coordination activity. Movement of elephants also formed part of the discussion.

Kumar said forest divisions of Saranda and Rourkela used to work in unison some years ago, but the practice stopped due to some reasons. “However, we have now decided to again join hands for the safety of elephants and also stopping the menace of poaching,” he informed.

The Saranda DFO said poaching gangs were active in Barbil, Rourkela, Besra, Champua (in Odisha), Majgaon and Jaitgarh (in Jharkhand). “Even the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is aware of this,” Kumar told The Telegraph Online.

It was decided in the meeting that forest teams from both Saranda and Rourkela will keep an eye on the movement of elephants, and keep each other informed about pachyderm activity.

Patrolling will be intensified at Karo Karampada and Ankua Ambia elephant corridors in Saranda. The Saranda DFO, during a recent meeting in Manoharpur, directed forest range officers to provide information on elephant activities without fail.

“We need to strengthen our information network to protect other animals as well. Animals are nowadays being sighted easily due to the nationwide lockdown since human movement in Saranda jungles has come down to a large extent,” a forester said.

According to him, illegal activity has somewhat gone up in Saranda due to the lockdown. “In this situation we have to be on maximum alert and keep an eye on illegal activities in the jungles. Patrolling will be intensified to prevent tree felling and unwarranted assembly of people inside the jungles. The situation is challenging, but we will try our best to prevent any illegal activities,” he added.

Another forester said that the lockdown has rendered many locals unemployed, and they are being lured by gangs active in poaching. “They are being made to chop down trees and kill animals,” he remarked.