Jharkhand

too as 40 elephants were killed in five years, including 13 in 2017.

According to the Indian Institute of Science (IIS), the state’s elephant population in 2012 was 688, which came down to 679 in 2017. But Jharkhand’s situation is better than the national average as the country’s elephant population dropped from 32,347 in 2012 to 27,312 in 2017.

“Timely information about elephant movement in villages could help check man-elephant conflicts. Even as we have a WhatsApp group and elephant tracking system, the information doesn’t reach remote villagers. In a bid to inform the villagers, the elephant bulletin was started,” Singh said.

He said the radio FM is popular in Jharkhand and so it was chosen to carry “information regarding the presence of wild elephants away from their natural habitat or in the vicinity of human habitation”.

“People will also be given suggestions and instructions to deal with the elephant menace,” he said.

Divisional forest officers (DFOs) across Jharkhand have been asked to provide inputs on elephant movement in their zones by 11am. “The Ranchi DFO wildlife will compile the information and pass it on to the radio channel,” Singh said.

Elephant-affected villages have welcomed the forest department’s move. “Elephants mainly attack at night. Informa- tion about their movement will help us take precautionary measures,” said Hari Mahto, a resident of Nichitpur villager in Ranchi’s Torpa block.