Elephant electrocuted in Uttarakhand

RUDRAPUR: A 15-year-old elephant, which had wandered from the forest into nearby fields, died after coming in contact with a dangerously low-hanging, high-tension power line in the Terai Central Forest Division near Dineshpur, Udham Singh Nagar, on Tuesday morning.


Villagers had previously urged the Power Corporation to raise the 11,000 KV power line to prevent such accidents. Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Jaynagar, said, "We have repeatedly requested the officials of the Power Corporation and the forest department to repair the wire. We also asked for proper arrangements for water in the forest due to past elephant activities."


Terai Central Forest Division subdivisional officer Shashi Dev said, "The elephant wandered into the fields in search of food and water. A postmortem is being conducted and a detailed investigation will follow. We plan to dig a trench to prevent elephants from entering the fields."