3 elephants fall into well in Chhattisgarh wildlife sanctuary, rescued
Balodabazar(PTI): Three elephants fell into a well at Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh, prompting a major rescue operation that lasted nearly three hours before they were safely pulled out using a makeshift ramp on Tuesday, officials said.
The elephants -- an adult female, her calf, and a juvenile male -- had accidentally fallen into the well at the farmland of a resident in Hardi village in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Arun Kumar Pandey told PTI.
The well lacked an outer boundary wall. Forest officials earlier said four elephants had fallen into the well.
Some locals spotted the elephants struggling inside the well early in the morning and immediately alerted the forest department. Senior forest officials, along with rescue teams, rushed to the site and an operation was launched to save the jumbos, Pandey said.
Earth-excavator machines were deployed, and a ramp was constructed, following safety protocols, by digging the sides of the well to allow the pachyderms to climb out safely, said Balodabazar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Dhammhil Ganveer, who guided the rescue operation.
The three elephants were rescued after a two-and-a-half-hour-long operation, without any injury, and later released into a nearby forest area, where they rejoined their herd, he said.
"The forest department's responsibility is not limited to protecting wildlife, rather, safeguarding every life is our priority. This rescue operation in Hardi village is an excellent example of the department's swift response, collective dedication, and the efficiency of the field team," Ganveer said.
The Balodabazar forest division continues to strengthen its rapid rescue response system, enhance field team training, and build stronger coordination with local communities to effectively handle such emergencies in the future, he added.
Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Satovisha Samajdar visited the site and supervised the rescue operation.
The department has been working to cover open wells across all forest divisions with iron grills using CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds, to prevent such accidents in the future, Pandey said.
Raipur-based wildlife activist Nitin Singhvi, however, blamed the forest department for the incident and called it "gross negligence".
Singhvi said that he has been urging authorities since 2018 to cover or secure open and abandoned wells located in and around forest areas to prevent such accidents.
Taking cognizance of his concern, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had written to the Chhattisgarh government in 2021, directing action to close unsafe wells. Later, in 2022, following his representation, the central government issued an advisory to all states and Union Territories, instructing them to ensure that open wells were properly covered or fenced, he claimed.
Despite these repeated warnings, the state forest department has taken no substantial action to obtain budgetary support for securing these wells, he said.
As per his estimate, there are more than 25,000 open and dry wells within and around forest areas across the state.
"In 2024, using CAMPA funds, only 450 wells were secured, and that too only in Kanker district," he claimed, adding that the lack of consistent efforts has left wildlife at serious risk.
4 elephants including 2 calves fell in open well with water filled about 6 ft at Barnawapara area, some 100 km from #Chhattisgarh capital. The rescue operation has begun. @moefcc (Centre) in Feb 2022 asked all states (chief wildlife warden) to cover open wells to protect… pic.twitter.com/4990DDHEH2
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
