Rescued elephant's birthday celebrated with 16 pound cake in Jharkhand's Dalma

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Oct 7 (PTI) Forest officials, village heads and school students celebrated the 16th birthday of a rescued elephant named 'Rajni' at the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand by cutting a 16-pound eggless cake on Tuesday, forest officials said.

Jamshedpur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Saba Alam Ansari who also holds charge of Seraikela-Kharsawan district and the Dalma Sanctuary told PTI that the birthday celebration of Rajni had been organised for the past few years, but this time it was done with a specific objective - to create awareness among local villagers about man-elephant conflict and ways to mitigate it.

"We involved school students of nearby villages, village heads, Eco Vikas Samity (a committee formed by forest department to create awareness among villagers about animal conservation and protection of trees), members of nearby villages in Saherbera, Asanboni and Pata in the celebration," said Ansari.

The forest official said that the villagers were also briefed about the launch of an app named 'Abua Hathi' through which villagers residing in 5 km radius of an elephant in a particular region will get an SMS alert on their mobile about the animal's presence to prevent man-elephant conflict.

"This apart, the app will also have a component wherein villagers can upload forms for government compensation in case of damage to properties and paddy," added Ansari.

Dalma ranger Dinesh Chandra said that Rajni's mahout Ravi Singh cut the cake which was then given to the elephant and other guests.

Ichagarh MLA Savita Mahato who was the chief guest of the event said that such celebrations help in getting people close to nature and is a step towards elephant conservation.

The DFO said that Rajni was rescued in an injured condition from a pit at a village in Ichagarh around 15 years ago when she was only one-and-a-half years old and since then her birthday is observed as part of Wildlife Week on October 7 annually highlighting the importance of animal conservation.

"Previously, Rajni lived near the main gate of Dalma, but now, for her better care and safety, she has been relocated to a new shed at Makulakocha," said Ansari.

As part of the birthday celebration, students from nearby schools took part in an awareness rally on wildlife conservation on Tuesday morning. PTI ANB NN