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Bhubaneswar: Concerned over poaching of elephants through different manner, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today called for prompt investigation in incidents of deliberate electrocution of wild animals and stern action to be taken against perpetrators of such crime.
"Despite the increased awareness on wildlife conservation, tragic incidents of human-animal conflicts continue to take place. This is a matter of serious concern," Patnaik said while addressing the Wildlife week celebrations here.
The chief minister asked officials to take all possible measures to prevent accidental electrocution of jumbos.
The Forest department had prepared a set of guidelines in the form of 'standard operational procedure' to deal with such eventualities. Frontline field staffs should be duly trained and procedures strictly followed in coordination with district administrations to mitigate sufferings of the people as well as wild animals, Patnaik said.
Stating that fragmentation of forest remains another major issue, the chief minister said it needs to be addressed and large patches of forest connected through corridors have to be rehabilitated.
"The state government has initiated a project for strengthening of 14 elephant corridors since the year 2014 from our own resources. This project would surely go a long way in reducing the man-animal conflict, particularly elephants in the state," he said.
Expressing concern over the death of wild animals by running trains, he said the Forest department had signed an MoU with Wildlife Trust of India for execution of a plan to mitigate elephant mortality due to train hits.
