"We cannot rely on the findings of the census that there are no elephants in Chandaka. The elephants are moving in and out. So when the census was conducted the elephants were not there," said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Chandaka Wildlife Divsion, Kedarnath Swain.
As per the forest department, a 6-km-long stone boundary with barbed wire-fencing has been constructed on the Bhubaneswar side of the sanctuary to check movement of the pachyderms. Trenches have been dug around the sanctuary.
The All India Synchronized Elephant estimation under project Elephant of the central government was conducted simultaneously in the entire eastern region in states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal from May 9 to May 12, 2017.
Also Read: Rescued leopard from Nuapada arrives at Nandankanan
On the other hand a herd of more than 15 elephants continue to wreak havoc near Kaipadar and Jariput villages of Khurda district. Sources informed that the pachyderms have been causing similar damages across the district all throughout the year. Irate over elephant menace, the affected farmers have been protesting before the district administration without any success.
"The compensation provided by government is not sufficient. A farmer earns nearly Rs 25,000-30,000 from cultivating one acre of land but the government provides only Rs 2,000-3,000," said an affected farmer Pradip Srichandan.
The Chandaka-Dampara Sanctuary authorities said that the sanctuary will be opened for public in a restricted manner with all Covid-19 guidelines and social distancing norms in place.
"All precautionary steps will be taken including sanitization, thermal screening of visitors and wearing of masks", ANI quoted HS Mohanty, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Chandaka Wildlife Division as saying to the news agency.
The Chandaka-Dampara sanctuary spread over an area of 193.39 square kilometres on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar is a home to varied and rich wildlife. The park is known for successful conservation of wild elephants.
After months of staying out of bounds for public, the Nandankanan Zoological park is also set to reopen for visitors from October 4 with adherence to all Covid-19 guidelines and social distancing norms.
Similarly, the botanical garden inside the zoo will also open on the same date, informed Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Hari Shankar Upadhyay.
The zoo authorities have planned initially planned to allow entry of only 1,000 people a day. The tickets for entry will be available both online and offline.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
Read More:
COVID19 Threat: Odisha Govt Not In Favour Of Reopening Religious Places
COVID-19 Lockdown: Over 8.5 Lakh Migrants Returned To Odisha