Lucknow: As the Union minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced plans to declare the elephant as the “national heritage animal”, the state got another reason to smile.
Uttar Pradesh, which already has an exclusive elephant reserve and a sizeable population of the pachyderm, is now planning to get Central support for protection and conservation of the animal.
Ramesh has also announced that a National Elephant Conservation Authority (NECA) will be formed on the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Uttar Pradesh is one of the few states in the country which has its own forest reserve. In September 2009, the state declared the Shivalik Forest Range in Bijnore's Nazibabad forest division as an Elephant Reserve.
The range, which shares borders with the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, is one of the key habitats of the elephant and covers 744 square kilometres. Currently, there are 30 elephants in the reserve.
The conservator (Saharanpur circle), Sunil Pandey, said: "This figure is from the elephant census conducted in May, but it is fluctuating since it is connected with the Rajaji National Park and the elephant is a migratory animal and keeps moving between the two states."
During summer, the animal moves towards the hill area and the figures show a decline, added Pandey.
Apart from the Shivalik range, the state also has elephant population in the Dudhwa National Park, which shares its borders with the Shuklafanta range in Nepal. In the last census, the area saw the presence of 11 tuskers.
The Forest Department -- alongwith the World Wildlife Fund and the forest ministry, Nepal -- is also running an awareness programme in the area as the Tarai belt witnesses herds of elephants migrating from Nepal to UP.
Field director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Shailesh Prasad, said; "This area has always been a traditional elephant territory and the population keeps changing. We are trying to create a specific zone and identify the animal's route from Nepal to UP."
The state forest department is now planning projects that it will be sending to the Union ministry.
A senior official said: "We have a reserve which can get a better push with the Centre's support. And among the northern states, we have a good population too. Hence, we are planning to come up with proposals for the animal's conservation, for which we can seek the Union ministry's support."
Source: The Indian Express
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