Bamboo plantation planned to curb elephant herd straying into Bhubaneswar

BHUBANESWAR: In view of the frequent straying of elephant herds of the fragmented Chandaka forests into the capital city, the Forest department has planned to undertake large-scale plantation of bamboo saplings.

It has also urged the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to redirect banyan tree waste as a temporary feed for the jumbos ensure their safety in the wild and prevent man-animal conflict.elephants within their natural habitat.Salia (Dendro calamus), a variety commonly used as elephant feed, will be planted by the division in the wildlife sanctuary. The proposed plantation is expected to help retain herds within the forest limits and restore the degraded landscapes over time,” he said.

However, acknowledging that the plantations will take time to mature, the DFO said as a temporary measure, they have urged the civic authorities in Bhubaneswar to support the Chandaka division in supply of green waste generated from routine pruning of banyan and other large trees that elephants prefer to eat.

Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Chandaka wildlife division Binod Acharya told TNIE that they have decided to plant around 30,000 bamboo saplings over 20 sq km area of Bharatpur forests and another 70,000 saplings in the remaining 175 sq km area of the sanctuary, including in the surroundings of Deras andSources said Chandaka is facing severe shortage of food for elephants owing to its shrinking and fragmented habitat as well as presence of captive jumbos who need to be fed in large quantities daily. In the absence of food, the elephants frequently enter into the city’s periphery leading to the risk of human-wildlife conflict.

Following entry of two tuskers from the forest to Sikharchandi hill, the administration had to keep the place shut for visitors for two days on Saturday and Sunday. It was reopened for visitors on Monday after a team of 20 forest frontline staff from the division managed to drive away the elephants to the wild following a four-day struggle.

Forest officials said around one lakh bamboo saplings will be planted in the identified forest patches and corridors across Chandaka-Dampara wildlife sanctuary, creating a sustainable and long-term food source for the