Kolkata, April 19 -- The Forest Department is implementing special measures to prevent elephants from straying near polling booths in forest-fringe areas of South Bengal, to ensure smooth voting during the elections.
"We have identified around 25 polling booths located close to elephant corridors. Nearly 60% of these are in Jhargram, while the rest are in Bankura and West Midnapore. Elephant tracker teams will be deployed in these corridors from 48 hours before polling to keep jumbos away. Voters can cast their votes without difficulty," said Singaram Kulandaivel, Chief Conservator of Forest, West Bengal.
The department has deployed 75-80 elephant tracker teams, each comprising 10-15 personnel, depending on the terrain. Areas such as Manikpara, Belpahari, Banspahari and Lalgarh in Jhargram; Garbeta and Pirakata in West Midnapore; and Barjora, Sonamukhi and Radhanagar in Bankura have booths located near elephant movement routes.
"We have taken all possible steps to instil confidence among voters that there will be no wildlife threat as they exercise their democratic rights," Kulandaivel added.
These regions will go to polls on Thursday, April 23, in the first phase.
The Forest Department is also among the 24 enforcement agencies tasked by the Election Commission with ensuring free and peaceful polling.
In addition, around 500 drop gates have been installed in border areas, some equipped with AI-enabled CCTV cameras, to monitor movement ahead of the polls. Personnel have been deployed at these gates across West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram, which share borders with Odisha and Jharkhand.
"We are working in coordination with the police to prevent any unauthorised entry through these drop gates, which function like check posts," a forest official said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.