Robbed of its home Indian tusker robs highway travellers

Passengers on the National Highway 215 in Orissa have to deal with an unusual highway robber: an elephant which snatches food.

The elephant doesn’t allow any vehicle on a stretch of the National Highway pass through before taking its share of food. As a vehicle comes to a halt the elephant smells the baggage and takes food away.

"The elephant is the main reason for traffic jams at this place. We have complained to the Forest Department but all they do is send two guards who come here and just watch the elephant," says Manoj Pati, a regular commuter on the highway.



This ‘extortion’ has been going on for last two years and recently passengers tried to chase the elephant away. The animal becomes violent when people do that and has killed eight people during such encounters. Animal activists though say the elephant must not be seen as a villain.

"We have seen that the elephant is very calm but its habitat has been destroyed and it is searching for food,” says Jeeban Ballabh das, secretary for People for Animals.

The 1,710 sq-km Keonjhar forest reserve, home to around 112 elephants, is fast shrinking due to large scale mining. Many of the mines are illegal but the authorities have not put a lid on them. Elephants then have no other option but to come out in search of food.