No space for tusker Omkar; Maha dials K'taka
MUMBAI, Nov. 5 -- A 10-year-old elephant, separated from his herd a few months ago, has become a nuisance for the state forest department after rummaging through several parts of Goa and Sindhudurg district in Konkan. While the forest department has reached out to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments to help in relocating and rehabilitating the elephant, both states claim they do not have space for him.
According to forest officials, the elephant, named Omkar, comes from Karnataka. While it had been ransacking paddy and banana fields in Goa, Omkar recently crossed over to Maharashtra, damaging fields and leaving villagers of Sindhudurg worried. While forest officials have decided to capture him, a senior forest official said, "We only have facilities for domesticated elephants. We are looking for a place which can take care of wild elephants."
Forest officials admitted that Omkar was moving around areas where capturing him was difficult due to the landscape. "We have asked the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments for help. The Karnataka government offered to help but told us to take care of the elephant once he is captured," the forest official added. All the facilities they have to house wild elephants are full. Forest officials said that the orders to capture Omkar were issued a month ago, but they need to first find a place where the elephant could be kept if captured. They are currently keeping a close eye on him even using drones at times.
Forest officials admitted, "At present, there is a herd of 25-30 elephants which have come to Vidarbha from Chhattisgarh, but capturing them is not possible since there is no space to keep them." Officials added however, that at present there is no risk to human lives....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.