Madhya Pradesh suspends Bandhavgarh officials following probe into the deaths of 10 elephants in the reserve.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has suspended two senior officials of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) after a high-level probe into the death of 10 elephants in the reserve. The suspended officials, BTR director Gaurav Choudhary and in-charge assistant conservator of forests Fateh Singh Ninama, faced action after the probe report pointed to lapses in duty.
The Chief Minister stated on Sunday that "the initial report doesn't point to any pesticide (in the food consumed by the elephants) or the role of 'another side'," and added that the autopsy report is expected in two to three days. According to Yadav, the BTR director was suspended "for switching off his phone, not returning to work after leave and other reasons." He continued, “ACF Fateh Singh Ninama has also been suspended.” Both officials were suspended for showing “laxity in performing their duties.”
Describing the deaths of the elephants as "very painful," the Chief Minister emphasized that the government was treating the incident seriously and had sent the forest minister and senior officials to investigate the matter. Earlier reports indicated that large quantities of kodo millet were found in the elephants' stomachs, raising concerns about potential toxicity.
The Chief Minister held an emergency meeting on Friday night, assigning MP forest junior minister Pradeep Ahirwar, additional chief secretary Ashok Baranwal, and head of Forest Force Aseem Shrivastava to conduct an investigation. The team completed their probe and returned to Bhopal on Sunday evening.
The deaths occurred over a period of three days: on October 29, four elephants were found dead in the Sankhani and Bakeli areas of the Khalil range in Umaria district; four more died on October 30, and two on October 31. In addition, two people were killed and one injured in an elephant attack in the area on Saturday.
CM Yadav stressed the need for establishing an elephant task force, radio tracking, and a long-term plan with the support of wildlife experts to prevent future incidents. "The elephants coming from other states, including Chhattisgarh, are not turning back due to the good environs and management of our parks. They have become an integral part of MP forest activities. Keeping this in mind, we have to look for a lasting plan for them," he said.
The Chief Minister announced, “We have decided to form an elephant task force to safely accommodate them. We will come up with a long-term plan comprising the best practices of other states, including Karnataka, Kerala, and Assam that have huge jumbo populations. We are going to send our officers to these states."
Additionally, Yadav mentioned measures to reduce human-elephant conflicts, such as installing solar fencing around farms to prevent crop damage. He also announced an increase in compensation for families of individuals killed in wild animal attacks, raising the amount from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. “We have decided to raise the compensation for the loss of lives due to wild animal attacks from Rs 8 lakh to 25 lakh. We have also covered the families of the two persons who were killed (in elephant attacks) in Umaria under it,” he stated.
(This story has been slightly reworked from an auto-generated PTI feed.)