In a shocking incident seven elephants died of electrolocution in Odisha's Dhenkanal district in the Sadar Forest Range on Friday night. The herd came in contact with a live, sagging 11KV line laid out for a railway construction site. The deaths of the pachyderms are "unpardonable", an official of the Wildlife Society of Odisha stated. From April this year, at least 54 elephants have died due to poaching, sagging lines, deliberate electrolocution, poisoning and speeding trains. Rail tracks are "death traps" for elephants.

It is seen that negligence of authority such as non- rectification of sagging lines and non-cabling of transmission lines led to the tragedy. So, who is responsible for this? The Central Electricity  Supply Utility (CESU) is being blamed as it is responsible for making sure that sagging lines are not left unattended. However, the Forest and Environent Department and the Energy Depatment are equally culpable for the gross negligence leading to the death of these majestic mammals. In this blame game the real issue of conservation and protection of wildlife should not be side tracked.

Elephants have a major role to play in the upkeep of our environment which will otherwise degrade. The lives of these sensitive, intelligent, wise and empathetic creatures are as precious as human lives. Dedicated, pro-active, foolproof, sensitized efforts are the need of the day to prevent such cruelty in future. Action must be taken now before it is too late.