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Cuttack, Nov. 24: The Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO) today expressed concern over the imminent threat posed to the lives of elephants by “sagging power lines” across the state.

“Every month, four to five elephants in the state are getting electrocuted. Two elephants were electrocuted at Bargarh last week. If low-hanging power lines are left unattended there will be more such deaths in Odisha,” WSO warned.

WSO had conducted a survey of sagging power lines in Dhenkanal district where a large number of elephants can be found. The study had revealed: “Power lines sagged at 147 locations”.

“The list of locations along with global positioning system (GPS) points was submitted to the forest department and energy department two months ago. But nothing has been done to pull up these dangerously low-hanging wires. We are sure there will be more elephant deaths once they come in contact with these lines,” said WSO secretary Biswajit Mohanty.

“Hundreds of elephant trackers have been appointed by the forest department to follow elephants to prevent poaching and electrocution. Surprisingly, these elephant trackers have never detected or reported low hanging power lines, which reveals the total lack of field monitoring,” he said.“It’s unfortunate that the forest department’s action has been limited to booking of cases under the Wildlife Protection Act against some junior engineers in the district concerned,” Mohanty said. He demanded filing of a case by the chief wildlife warden, Odisha, before the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking withdrawal of distribution licence to the power distribution companies for failure to maintain safety norms.

Official reports say electrocution has caused the deaths of 107 elephants during the past 10 and a half years. Of them, 27 deaths were reported from Keonjhar region while another 12 were killed in Sambalpur. The state’s elephant population, according to official census, had gone down to 1,886 in 2010 from 2,044 in 1979.

A four-member expert committee comprising forest officials and electrical engineers was set up last year to probe deaths of elephants by electrocution and suggest recommendations to stop these deaths. The committee filed its report in December 2010.

“In this report it was made clear that the power distribution companies were culpable for the deaths of the elephants. Most deaths could have been avoided had they made sure the lines were at the minimum height as per law. Besides, almost no power companies had carried out inspections of the power lines which were also a statutory requirement,” the WSO secretary said.