2 Bandhavgarh reserve officials suspended after death of 10 elephants
Bhopal (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has suspended two senior officials of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) for lapses after a high-level probe team submitted its reports in connection with the death of 10 elephants in the park.
The initial report doesn't point to any pesticide (in the food consumed by the elephants) or the role of “another side”, the CM on Sunday said, adding the autopsy report will come in two or three days.
BTR director Gaurav Choudhary and in-charge assistant conservator of forests Fateh Singh Ninama were placed under suspension.
The reserve has drawn national attention following the deaths of the jumbos in 72 hours.
“The high-level team has submitted its report. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve director has been suspended for switching off his phone, not returning to work after leave and other reasons. ACF Fateh Singh Ninama has also been suspended,” the CM told PTI.
Both have been suspended for showing laxity in performing their duties, he added.
Calling the jumbo deaths “very painful”, the CM said the government took the matter seriously and sent the forest minister and senior officials to the reserve for a probe into the matter.
Officials had earlier talked about toxicity along with huge quantities of kodo millets in the stomachs of the 10 elephants that died in the reserve.
The CM on Friday night called an emergency meeting and sent a team comprising MP forest junior minister Pradeep Ahirwar, additional chief secretary Ashok Baranwal and head of Forest Force Aseem Shrivastava to the reserve to probe the elephant deaths and submit a report.
The team returned to Bhopal on Sunday evening.
On October 29, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khalil range of the BTR in Umaria district, while four died on October 30 and two on October 31.
On Saturday, two persons were killed and one injured in an elephant attack in the area.
CM Yadav also underlined the need for an elephant task force, radio tracking and a long term plan with the help of wildlife experts to avoid a repeat of jumbo deaths and attacks on humans.
"The elephants coming from other states, including Chhattisgarh, are not turning back due to the good environs and management of our parks. They have become an integral part of MP forest activities. Keeping this in mind, we have to look for a lasting plan for them," Yadav said.
"We have decided to form an elephant task force to safely accommodate them. We will come up with a long-term plan comprising the best practices of other states, including Karnataka, Kerala and Assam that have huge jumbo populations. We are going to send our officers to these states," he said.
In order to avoid man-animal conflicts, solar fencing will be installed around agriculture farms, so that the elephants do not destroy crops, the CM said.
The state government has also increased the compensation to the kin of those killed in wild animal attacks to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 8 lakh.
“We have decided to raise the compensation for the loss of lives due to wild animal attacks from Rs 8 lakh to 25 lakh. We have also covered the families of the two persons who were killed (in elephant attacks) in Umaria under it,” Yadav said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
