CAUTION: ELEPHANTS AT WORK

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Link: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main20.asp?

filename=Ne1021200Caution.asp

 

CAUTION: ELEPHANTS AT WORK

 

An oil refinery pits man against elephant yet again. The toll so

far: 72 men, 44 elephants

 

Teresa Rehman

Numaligarh

 

As dusk sets in, an unofficial curfew descends in and around

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam's Golaghat district. Anxious

shopkeepers shut their businesses by 6-7 pm as silence engulfs the

area. Local people wage a daily battle as they hope and pray

that `baba' does not create havoc again.

 

`Baba' is what the local people call elephants. " We worship the

elephant. But now we have been gripped by a fear psychosis. We have

to be prepared for any kind of casualty caused by marauding herds of

elephants, who might ransack our property and even kill people, "

says Moti Rabi Das, who teaches at Adarsha Vidyapith in Letekujan

tea estate, near the refinery. " We even feel scared to go to the

toilet which is usually located outside, at night, " adds Das.

 

Elephants are on the rampage in the state as human settlements have

encroached on their habitat. According to a state wildlife

department report, elephants have killed 239 people in Assam since

2001. During the same period, 265 elephants were killed. The

conflict has intensified over the years in Golaghat district and the

local people attribute it to the setting up of the refinery at a

location that was a breeding ground for elephants. The area was also

a part of the state's largest elephant corridor. Since 1996 when

work on the refinery began, 72 people and 44 elephants have been

killed.

 

Known as the " Assam Accord refinery " , NRL was set up by the Centre

to fulfil a commitment it made under the Assam accord to promote

industrial development in the state. The refinery was finally

commissioned in October 2000 and is situated in the eastern end of

the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong elephant corridor, which had more than

1,600 elephants. Wildlife activists say that this was the area where

elephants used to drink water from the Dhansiri river. " This was an

important area for animals as they used to spend a lot of time here,

specially during the winter, " points out environmentalist Anwaruddin

Choudhury.

 

Local people say that a huge tree still exists in the refinery where

the elephants used to come and breed. " Till now that tree could not

be razed. Anyone who tries to cut it falls sick or something

untoward happens to that person, " says Nitu Changmai, a shopkeeper.

Though the refinery spends Rs 100 crore on environmental management,

the thought of the refinery disrupting the elephant habitat did not

strike anyone. The land was allocated after getting due clearance

from the ministry of environment and forests.