Sanctuary Asia – July 2019

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off , the culprit was apprehended, an FIR fi led and the deer’s
body seized and burnt by the Forest Department. The entire
operation was made possible because of the strong network
of local volunteers.
Earlier this year, Project Leader Ashwin organised
Vanodaya’s volunteers to conduct crucial crowd control
programmes to regulate the masses of pilgrims on their way
to two temples within the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on the
occasion of Mahashivratri. The Vanodaya team worked to
keep the crowds on designated paths and to extinguish fi res
that were accidentally lit by the pilgrims or intentionally lit by
miscreants. Over a two-day period, the team helped the Forest
Department manage over 8,000 people!

SAJAL FIGHTS ON FOR HUMANS

AND ELEPHANTS
March was a busy month of public engagements for Project
Leader Sajal Madhu in Chhattisgarh. He gave a presentation
on human-elephant confl ict (HEC) mitigation strategies to an
audience of 250 forest offi cials, at a seminar organised by
the State Forest Department, and conducted two awareness
workshops on avoiding confl ict with elephants for the
community members of Vijayapatra and Duliamura villages.
Sajal also helped the distraught family of a victim of the
confl ict apply for compensation from the government.
Unfortunately, the human-elephant confl ict situation in
the Dharamjaigarh block of the state, where Sajal works, is
getting more severe with every passing day. Three herds of
over 50 wild elephants were recorded in the Dharamjaigarh
Forest Division in April. The animals caused extensive
damage to crops in the surrounding villages and killed
three humans in a span of a few weeks! The community is
understandably angry, and there is bristling tension between
them and the Forest Department. Villagers blocked the
highway in a ‘raasta roko’ protest against the government,
and confronted police and forest offi cers on the issue. On
request for assistance by the Forest Department, Sajal
played a key role in calming the frayed nerves of all those
involved. He arranged a quick call to the DFO, who further

spoke to the villagers over the phone assuring public safety,

and explaining that the Forest Department would be handling

the situation by tracking the elephants, and making this data

available to the impacted communities for their safety.

While Sajal is doing his best to mediate matters, and

is now working with some guidance from scientists of the

Nature Conservation Foundation, the situation requires

urgent intervention from the central government.

SANDHYA AND MARINA ON

COEXISTENCE

In April 2019, Sanctuary’s Project Leaders Sandhya Rani and

Marina Juliet conducted a three-day snakebite awareness

camp at The Gerry Martin Project (TGMP) fi eld station in

Karnataka. The camp was organised in collaboration between

TGMP and Humane Society International/India (HSI), and

was led by the latter’s campaign manager, Sumanth Madhav.

Eighty-eight young students from six diff erent villages in

the Mysuru district attended the camp in three batches, and

learnt about snakebite prevention and management through

games and presentations. The three facilitators also dispelled

myths about snakes and put forth a case for co-existence

between humans and wild animals!

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