RAIPUR: Condemning the deaths caused in
elephant attack
in the
Surguja district
,
Chhattisgarh Congress president
Deepak Baij has demanded from the BJP government to pay Rs 50 lakh
compensation
to the kin of deceased stating that it’s because of
tree-felling exercise
going on in
Hasdeo forest regions
that
wild animals
get aggressive and attack people.
Raising the issue of human-elephant conflict in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district where a a man Shivcharan, 40, from Pahadi Korwa community was killed in elephant attack, Deepak Baij said that the responsibility of those answerable for the incident should be fixed.
"The kin of deceased belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), should be given a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a family member should be given government job with immediate effect. Orders should be given to immediately stop tree-felling exercise in forests as it impacts life of wild animals and humans. Protection should be given to the villagers living close to forest regions," Baiji said in a statement.
"Baij added that
Congress
government had reserved the Hasdeo Aranya as elephant reserve and had withheld the deforestation process but the Vishnu Deo Sai government is mercilessly indulged in tree felling in the forest. Fearful with the sound of tree cutting machines and mining equipment, the wild animals are leaving forests and proceeding towards human habitat. Many are attacking villagers", he said.
"The animals as well as humans all are living under fear. Animals entering human habitat is the result of Shivcharan’s death, which needs to be controlled. When Congress was in power in state, BJP used to demand to revoke the mining approvals, now that BJP is both in Centre and state, they should together cancel the permissions for mining and deforestation. Despite that the state has a tribal as chief minister, the voice of tribals isn’t reaching the decision makers. The tribals are rather being threatened, detained and sent to jails," alleged Baij.
This comes in the midst of massive protest going on in state as well as social media over large scale tree-felling exercise going on in Hasdeo Aranya and the elephant attacks in nearby regions that claimed lives of two persons including one from PVTG. Besides, herds of elephants have been destroying houses and crops in large scale and people live under fear and feel vulnerable.
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