The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the secretary of the energy department and the managing director of a power distribution company for negligence in the death of three elephants, including a calf, due to electrocution in Raigarh district last month.
A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, issued directions to the energy department, asking the officials to submit affidavits detailing the incident. The Supreme Court also asked officials to share details of the circumstances that led to the death of elephants in Raigarh’s Gharghoda Forest Range and explain preventive measures to avoid future incidents.
The court has taken up this matter alone, and pointed out the seriousness of the safety and conservation of wild animals. The bench asked the Department to provide information on the corrective or preventive measures taken since the incident, and any disciplinary measures against those who did this.
The incident occurred when three elephants came in contact with an 11 kV power line in the Chuhkimar forest on October 24. This death followed days after a similar incident on October 10, where three bears were found dead in Kanker.
Chhattisgarh has recorded more than 70 elephant deaths in the last six years due to various reasons, including electrocution. According to the state forest department, 13 elephants have died due to power outages in 2024 alone.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the forest department staff had repeatedly warned the local electricity department staff about the dangerous 11 kV power line, which was endangering the elephants in the area.
Although they were on alert, no action was taken, which led to the death of these animals.
Source link