Pachyderm wrath

Rogue tusker has forced the authorities to partially close Rishikesh-Dehradun highway::

P.S. Chauhan

Continuing their killing spree, the elephants, straying out of the forests, have trampled to death two more persons in Rishikesh region. Last week an infuriated tusker assaulted a Max Mahindra at about 6 p.m. on the Rishikesh-Dehradun highway, 5 km. from Rishikesh. As the 12 passengers, travelling by the vehicle, tried to escape, the tusker took two persons in the grip of its trunk and crushed them to death. There was mayhem on the highway, with long queues of vehicle on both the sides and the commuters running helter and skelter in panic. The rogue tusker also damaged a scooty, a motorbike and a car. The police and the forest officials, who reached the spot after getting information of the incident, diverted the traffic to alternative routes. They had a tough time in scaring away the tusker into the forest by firing gun shots in the air. The deceased were identified as Aashi Devi (32) and Sunil (28), both residents of Rishikesh. The next day, the locals held a big demonstration in front of the ranger's office to protest against the pachyderm menace. The demonstrators also blocked traffic on the highway for many hours. The forest authorities have declared that a compensation of Rs. 1,00,000 each will be provided to the families of the victims. Last week, at this very spot an elephant attacked a car and killed an old lady, Maheshwari Devi (85), while her son and his wife saved their life by running away. Just one day before Diwali this year, a pachyderm crushed to death three members of a family near Motichoor railway crossing, when they were returning to Rishikesh from Haridwar.

The sources say that this year seven persons have fallen prey to the wrath of the wandering elephants in Rishikesh region alone. "After a high level meeting of the forest and the police officials, it has been decided that in view of the elephants menace the Rishikesh-Dehradun highway will remain closed for traffic from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m.," said J.S. Sohag, the conservator of forests (Shivalik range). The divisional forest officer, Meenakshi Joshi said that a proposal has been sent to the chief wildlife warden of the state, Shrikant Chandola to declare the tusker as 'killer' to pave the way to kill it. However, the proposal is being opposed by the wild life activists. Rajendra Aggarwal, the state head of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) told Haridwar Plus that some other way should be found out to deal with the tusker. "Elephant is generally a peace loving animal. It attacks the commuters and others only when it is provoked by teasing or unnecessary blaring of horns," said Aggarwal.