Will discuss issues of inter-state movement of elephants with Chhattisgarh govt: MP CM

Yadav, who is scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh later in the day, also advocated for coordination between the forest departments of the two states over various issues.

Last week, 10 elephants died at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in MP's Umaria district.On Sunday, Yadav suspended two senior officials of the BTR following a high-level probe into the elephant deaths. An elephant also killed three persons in Umaria district last week.

"The elephant-related incidents usually occur due to the arrival of herds of jumbos from Chhattisgarh. I will bring this issue before the chief minister (of Chhattisgarh)," Yadav said.

"The forest departments of both the states should have some coordination so that we can stay in touch with each other to avoid the situation that arises due to the entry of large elephant herds. We will discuss together about the difficult challenges that may arise in future," the MP CM said.

Yadav is scheduled to participate in the Chhattisgarh 'Rajyotsav' (event related to the state's foundation day) in Raipur on Monday evening. He congratulated Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai and people of the state on Rajyotsav. On Sunday, CM Yadav underlined the need for an elephant task force, radio tracking and a long term plan with the help of wildlife experts to avoid a repeat of jumbo deaths and attacks on humans.

"The elephants coming from other states, including Chhattisgarh, are not turning back due to the good environs and management of our parks. They have become an integral part of MP forest activities. Keeping this in mind, we have to look for a lasting plan for them," Yadav said.

"We have decided to form an elephant task force to safely accommodate them. We will come up with a long-term plan comprising the best practices of other states, including Karnataka, Kerala and Assam that have huge jumbo populations. We are going to send our officers to these states," he had said. In order to avoid man-animal conflicts, solar fencing will be installed around agriculture farms, so that the elephants do not destroy crops, the CM said.