2 Bandhavgarh reserve officials suspended after death of 10 elephants

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has suspended two senior officials of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) for lapses after a high-level probe team submitted its reports in connection with the death of 10 elephants in the park.

The initial report doesn't point to any pesticide (in the food consumed by the elephants) or the role of “another side”, the CM on Sunday said, adding the autopsy report will come in two or three days.

BTR director Gaurav Choudhary and in-charge assistant conservator of forests Fateh Singh Ninama were placed under suspension.

The reserve has drawn national attention following the deaths of the jumbos in 72 hours.

“The high-level team has submitted its report. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve director has been suspended for switching off his phone, not returning to work after leave and other reasons. ACF Fateh Singh Ninama has also been suspended,” the CM told PTI.

Both have been suspended for showing laxity in performing their duties, he added.

Calling the jumbo deaths “very painful”, the CM said the government took the matter seriously and sent the forest minister and senior officials to the reserve for a probe into the matter.

Officials had earlier talked about toxicity along with huge quantities of kodo millets in the stomachs of the 10 elephants that died in the reserve.

The CM on Friday night called an emergency meeting and sent a team comprising MP forest junior minister Pradeep Ahirwar, additional chief secretary Ashok Baranwal and head of Forest Force Aseem Shrivastava to the reserve to probe the elephant deaths and submit a report.

The team returned to Bhopal on Sunday evening.

On October 29, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khalil range of the BTR in Umaria district, while four died on October 30 and two on October 31.

On Saturday, two persons were killed and one injured in an elephant attack in the area.

CM Yadav also underlined the need for an elephant task force, radio tracking and a long term plan with the help of wildlife experts to avoid a repeat of jumbo deaths and attacks on humans.

"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," Yadav said.

"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," he said.

In order to avoid man-animal conflicts, solar fencing will be installed around agriculture farms, so that the elephants do not destroy crops, the CM said.

The state government has also increased the compensation to the kin of those killed in wild animal attacks to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 8 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,” Yadav said.