Bhubaneswar (Dec 7), The Assembly received Tuesday’s notification that 406 elephants had died in Odisha between 2016-17 and 2020-21.<br/ Member Suresh Kumar Routray asked Forest Minister Bikramkeshari Arukha if he had any information.
He replied in writing that 162 of the jumbos were killed in an accident and 11 were poached.He did not address the causes of death for the remaining 233 elephants.<br/ <br/ He said that 14 of the 162 deaths were caused by train accidents and 4 from road accidents.54 died due to electrocution, while 90 occurred due to other causes.<br/ <br/ The minister outlined the various state-level measures that were taken to stop the death of elephants and said that three elephant projects, Sambalpur elephant conservancy project, Mahanadi conservation project, and Mayurbhanj elephant preservation project, had been undertaken.<br/ <br/ He said that the government also plans to radio-collar the elephants, which can cause problems in monitoring their movements, establish an elephant rescue center, and draw up a strategy for consultation with the people to improve the facilities for wild animals.
<br/ <br/ The minister replied that poaching had caused the deaths of 802 wild animals, including elephants as well as tigers, in the state from 2016-17 through 2020-21.<br/ <br/ In 2016-17, wild animals lost 117 lives.
This number rose to 157 in 2017-18, and 158 in 2018-19.<br/ <br/ Arukha stated that 130 animals had been killed in poaching in 2019-20, and the number rose substantially to 240 by 2020-21.
He said that 3,248 poachers were also arrested during these five years.<br/ <br/
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