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Sources said that pachyderms walking in a herd of 13 people in the nearby forest could not feel the danger that a high-power 11-kV electric wire would run at less than five meters in height. It was dark and they could not see the wires. All seven succumbed to injuries on the spot, officials said.
Power lines mounted on poles had been fired to power a construction company to which was entrusted the construction of a railway on a bridge. The lines were laid with permission from the Energy Department and they were temporary. The Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) distribution company had distributed the supply.
"An experienced electrical inspector will conduct an investigation to find out what led to the electrocution of elephants. On the basis of this information, responsibility will be fixed, "US Secretary of Energy Hemming Sharma told the media, while acknowledging having heard of information indicating that a herd of Elephants moved in the area 10 days ago.
According to sources, the lines were barely above eight feet from the ground. According to the directive, power lines should be at least 17 feet high. While an adult elephant is 9 feet tall, a fully developed tusker is 12 feet tall.
Officials said six of the thirteen flocks escaped unharmed. They attributed the fact that the six elephants were crossing a water channel from a low area, which allowed them to avoid contact with the wire.
Sandip Tripathy, the chief chief forest officer (wildlife), said senior forest officials have been on site to take stock.
In the only division of Dhenkanal, the collapse of the wire from April 2010 until today killed 18 elephants. In the state, 42 elephants died of electrocution due to the subsidence of the wire during this period. "There are at least 200 points throughout the Dhenkanal Division where wires run dangerously overhead," said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the Wildlife Society of Odisha.
