Cautious welcome as first jumbo herd moves into Gadchiroli forests
The Hindu
The group of 22 animals has spent nine years traversing adjoining Chhattisgarh without conflict
The herd of 22 wild elephants that has been in Kanker, Balod, Gariaband, Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh for the last nine years, has successfully surmounted the last natural barrier to settle down in its new habitat in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Conservationists say the habitat is ideal for elephants but express concern on possible human-elephant conflict during tendu leaf collection and in case of crop damage.
“The team of Chanda Hathni has entered the forest of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra,” Satovistha Samajdar, Divisional Forest Officer of Dhamtari district told The Hindu.
The herd is very gentle, well behaved and even responds to the calls of the Balod and Dhamtari district field forest staff members, Mr. Samajdar said.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.