Cuttack, March 2: Wildlife conservationists have urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to bring in "immediate measures" for jumbo conservation in Athgarh forest division where they are "experiencing extreme hostile conditions for survival".

"Wild elephants are not secured in the Athgarh forest division even as a large part of it falls within the ambit of the Mahanadi Elephant Reserve. There has been a spurt in elephant deaths (natural, poaching and electrocution) and escalation in human-elephant conflicts because of major conservation problems and issues such as encroachment, illicit tree-felling, irrigation projects, roads and railways, industrial establishments, human population and non-timber forest products," Wild Odisha secretary Monalisha Bhujabal said in a memorandum.

Expressing concern over the hostile conditions in the memorandum, Bhujabal pointed out that in recent times "the local population in the Khuntuni range of Athgarh forest division has adopted an extremely hostile attitude to these elephants by blocking their corridor passage and harming the animals with weapons".

In its memorandum last week, Wild Odisha, an organisation for conservation of nature and wildlife, demanded intervention both on short and long-term basis. "In the immediate, there is a priority need to control unlawful activities by local people and habitations against wild elephants by strictly enforcing the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972," Bhujabal said.

"There is also a pressing requirement for consolidation of elephant movement corridors which connects the forests of Athgarh forest division with those of the Kapilash Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary and the Satkosia-Baisipally Tiger Reserve," the Wild Odisha secretary demanded in the memorandum.

The Athgarh forest division has 114 resident elephants.