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‘Musth’ jumbo now in safe captivity; villagers breathe easy (Mayabunder, India)

Author(s)

Kurma Rao, The Echo of India 

Date Published

The ‘Musth’ tusker of the Forest Corporation that went berserk in the Mayabunder region last Friday has been brought under control after a sustained operation by the joint team of Forest and the Police Department on Sunday. According to reports, following information from the villagers of forest settlement areas in and around Tugapur 8, the rescue team zeroed in the tusker and managed to chain it in the Chuglungum Forest Range in the afternoon hours today. As per latest reports,  an expert Tranquilizer Team along with personnel from the Forest and Police Departments have been positioned in the region by the District Administration with the direction to ensure proper care of the elephant and to prevent any further casualties. 

The Zilla Parishad member of Pahalgaon, Mr Ganesh Prakash, while appreciating the prompt efforts of the government agencies this time, urged the local administration to embark on necessary measures to prevent such incidents in future. “Tuskers employed by the Forest Corporation and the Dept. of Environment and Forests have contributed immensely for the development of this remote territory for the past many decades. Mahouts and other forest labourers, who take care of the precious mammals, too have played a pivotal role serving in remote forest areas. We neither want to lose our jumbos nor precious human lives. The local administration, particularly the Forest Department should work out a mechanism to avoid such fatal encounters. Strategies implemented in some of the states in the country like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh etc., which have abundant forest wealth, are worth emulation in these islands,” opined Mr Prakash.
The tusker of the Forest Corporation, in ‘Musth’ state crushed mahout Balraj, 53, resident of Lucknow village to death on Saturday besides injuring four others. Balraj, along with three other forest workers and one police personnel, managed to locate the elephant at the Chuglungum range at around 1 pm yesterday when suddenly the elephant turned around and grabbed the victim by its trunk before crushing him to death on the spot.
The Echo of India was the first to report about the tusker of the Forest Cooperation of Mayabunder zone which went berserk in ‘Musth’ state last Friday. The elephant suddenly went boisterous and tried to trample the mahout under its trunk at Chuglungum range before sneaking into thick jungles in the area.

http://echoofindia.com/mayabunder-musth-jumbo-now-safe-captivity-villagers-breathe-easy-125248