Once the precincts of ChudangaGarh : Now Chandaka elephant sanctuary

Once the precincts of ChudangaGarh : Now Chandaka elephant sanctuary

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Geographical Location of Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary

Panoramic view of the water body inside the Chandaka Dampara Elephant Sanctuary

Water body in Deras,

Chandaka Dampara Elephant Sanctuary

The Chandaka- Dampara forest, located close to Bhubaneswar,  addresses the north-eastern limits of Eastern Ghats. A wildlife sanctuary located at such close proximity to a state capital is just of its sort in the country.This is currently an elephant sanctuary and a confined  forest ( because of urban encroachment from all around) which once shaped  a piece of immense importance of Eastern Ghats forest and Central Indian Elephant range. Inside this Chandaka Wildlife Division lies  Chandaka-Dampara Elephant Sanctuary. The sanctuary spreads over two districts Khurda and Cuttack of Odisha.

p.c: wildlife.odisha.gov.in

Legends Behind Chudanga Garh in the vicinity

remnants of Chudanga Garh

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Tunnel used during Chodaganga Dev

Inside the sanctuary the remains of two forts , one at Buali Garh and the other at Chudanga Garh , say a lot of the heavenly past of the region . As per the Madala Panji( the temple chronicle of Lord Jagannath temple at Puri) , the Chudanga Garh(fort) was developed by Lalatendu Keshari of Keshari dynasty (also called Somavamsis) when it was known as Sarangagarh, in light of the fact that the region had huge number of water bodies having a lot of blooming lotus and in Sanskrit language, Saranga implies lotus. Later on Baraha Keshari redesigned the fort, which was then won over by Ganga ruler Chodaganga Deva in the wake of crushing Karna Deva, the last king of the Somavamsi administration in 1110 AD. There after the fort of Sarangagarh became known as Chudanga Garh after the name of the victor Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.The dilapidated remains/ruins of passages ,tanks developed for irrigation purpose ,water channels,wells etcetera – all highlight the rich legacy and good fortune this region was delighted with quite a long time ago .

Area of Expanse & Year of Declaration of the Sanctuary

The region was once a fortification of tiger, until 60s. A rare happening in the annals of history is that when the last tiger ( female) voluntarily accepted imprisonment in 1967.During their mating season, a tigress intentionally jumped over the Nandankanan concrete fence to get in to a tiger enclosure. It stayed in the zoo till her death.  The forest was once abounded with tiger, panther, Sambar, Barking deer, Chital, Wild Boar, Gaur and many other wild creatures. With the foundation of the state capital at Bhubaneswar in 1957, Chandaka Damapara forest went under gigantic pressure for firewoods, and timber. Therefore, deforestation became rampant.

The year 1982, was a defining moment in the preservation history of the Chandaka Dampara, when state Govt. established this forest as a wildlife sanctuary especially, to give a place of refuge to the occupant elephants and to give a respite to the fast declining biological ecosystem of the region. Once the erstwhile Puri district was subdivided into three different districts,  in particular Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh. The total forest cover in Khurda district alone comes to only 317sq.kms( out of which Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary alone comprises 193 sq.kms area) , which is nearly 10 % of its geographical area of 2889 sq.kms.

The Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary was notified under provisions of Wildlife (protection) act 1972 by the State Government first during 1982 and later the boundary of the sanctuary was amended during June 1988. 

Flora and Faunal Species

pc: wildlife odisha

pc: wildlife odisha

pc; wildlife odisha

Here the huge stretches of Bamboo expanse  give absolutely perfect habitat conducive for the elephants.Faunal structures of the Sanctuary are elephant ( Flagship creature), barking deer, spotted deer ,mouse deer, wild pig, Indian wolf, sloth bear, langur, Indian quail, open billed stork, red jungle fowl,peafowl etcetera. are only a few.. 

pc: wildlife odisha

The reptilian fauna incorporate mud turtle, Bengal monitor lizard, the Chameleon,Rat snake,Python, Cobra, Russels snake, Earth Boa,Bamboo pit snake etcetera. 

The water bodies situated inside Chandaka are no less huge as they draw in an assortment of winged guests (both resident and migratory birds). A man made habitat “Kumar Khunti ” , that is  the water reservoir  surrounded by dense forests,bamboo tracts etc. serve as an excellent nesting and roosting place for 82 species of birds.Around 400 plant species have so far been recognized in this sanctuary, including numerous restorative plants. Normal therapeutic plants of the sanctuary are patal garuda,shatavari, duramari, bhuin limbo, guduchi lata, salparni, bhuin-kakharu, indrajaba, thalkudi, apamarga, kurchi, and baidanka etcetera. 

pc: wildlife odisha

Accommodation & Transportation

# Forest guest houses at Deras and Dampara can be booked. There are bamboo log huts at Deras and Godibari too and reservation for the same can be made through the DFO/ officer in-charge of Chandaka Wildlife Division, Bhubaneswar. Ph.0674- 2355400, 2355885. Booking can be made through the following site. www.ecotourodisha.com. Otherwise one can think of staying in a luxury property at Bhubaneswar and go for a visit as a day tripper.

# Nearest railhead and airport is at Bhubaneswar. The distance from Bhubaneswar city center is not more than 20 kms.

# Eco Friendly battery operated sightseeing vehicles are also available.

Challenges

Nowadays, the elephant count in the sanctuary has come down alarmingly.It is not even a double digit figure as per the latest elephant census in 2017.

The major hurdles / challenges can be listed out as follows…

• Growing Timber smugglers and elephant poachers 

• There are more than 200 families in four villages who are  still residing and farming  inside the sanctuary region for the last 30 years 

• migration of the elephants to other regions because of food scarcity .

• Construction and development activities surrounding the sanctuary are being allowed by the government which is a blatant violation of the standard protocol which says that there shouldn’t be any construction activity within the 10 km radius of a sanctuary.

• Particularly Asian elephants walk around 13 miles per day in search of food and water. Essentially they walk around 9 miles at least per day even if plenty of food and water are available in the surrounding region. But unfortunately Chandaka is fast becoming an isolated sanctuary and again because of rapid industrialization and glaring lighting all around even in the night restricts their natural instinct to move from place to place.

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Conclusion:

It was solely after the natural forest cover deteriorated significantly because of widespread deforestation , elephants, which were prior in harmony with their habitat, became risky . There the man-elephant conflict began . It is not that the elephants encroached our place of habitation, rather the reverse is true. Please never forget to share your thoughts in this regard in the comment section below.

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Dr. Manoj Mishra

lunarsecstasy@gmail.com