Elephant landscape seeing a dramatic change in Odisha, says WSO
The Hindu
Five elephants were found dead in the Keonjhar forest division in the last 20 days
The elephant landscape has undergone a dramatic change in Odisha due to mindless mining and unplanned developmental activities, the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO), an environmental group, said here on Wednesday. “The elephant landscape has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Keonjhar district, which had 112 elephants in 2002, now has only 40 due to large-scale mining,” said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, WSO, and former member of the National Board for Wildlife. “Dhenkanal district, which had 81 elephants in 2002, now has 169, with many getting trapped in the Rengali irrigation canals. Similarly, the 70 odd elephants from the Chandaka sanctuary have virtually abandoned the area and have migrated to Ganjam, Nayagarh and Cuttack districts. Many were killed by trains or due to electrocution in Ganjam,” he added.A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.