Koderma: A control room has been set up to the track the movement of an elephant herd, which has been roaming the district over the past couple of weeks, round the clock and send timely alerts that can prevent loss of lives and minimise damages to properties and livestock, officials here said.The control room has been set up on the directives of deputy commissioner Rituraj after four people were trampled to death by elephants across the district in the past 15 days.The control room will fetch updates on location of the elephant herds from forest officials and immediately warn local officials, police and village elders. Real time updates are being shared using WhatsApp. Block officers, police and even local teachers have been asked to help spread these warnings.A senior officer is now overseeing the control room, and staff members are working in three different shifts round the clock. “There are three elephant herds in the district at present. However, a tusker, which left its herd and is now alone, is the most dangerous of them all,” divisional forest officer (DFO) Saumitra Shukla said.
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Shukla said the tusker, which is responsible for the recent deaths, has become aggressive. “Elephants usually just pass through Koderma, but this time they are staying much longer than usual. Forest teams have even been chased by the animals while trying to push them back into the forest,” Shukla said.To help the local teams, a special 12-member expert group has been brought in from Bankura in West Bengal. The department is also giving out tools like torches, drums and firecrackers to villagers to help scare the elephants away. “Street plays are being organised to create awareness among the people in the area,” the DFO said.