ASSAM: 5 killed in wild tusker attacks

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5 killed in wild tusker attacks

By A City Correspondent

GUWAHATI, Nov 19 – In the highest ever casualty in the human-elephant

conflict so far in Sonitpur, four persons, all belonging to the same

family, were trampled to death late last night at Borbhagia village,

Jamugurihat. In a separate incident, one tea garden labourer was

killed and another injured by a herd of elephants in Udalguri district

last night. Mithu Das (35) of Hatigarh tea estate of Tata Tea Ltd was

trampled to death by a wild pachyderm. Another teenager was seriously

injured in the incident and admitted to a local hospital.

 

The dead in Borbhagia village have been identified as Dibyajyoti Borah

(37), Mala Borah (27), Son Borah (2) and Maina (7 months), sources said.

 

Village people said the incident occurred after midnight, when a herd

of around 10 elephants came to their village. While the rest of the

elephants fed themselves on the paddy fields, one wandered away, and

attacked the house of Dibyajyoti Bora.

 

According to Chandan Bora, DFO, Sonitpur East Division, Viswanath

Chariali, the herd of tuskers had come from the Panpur, a site inside

Kaziranga National Park.

 

The winter months witness the movement of the tuskers from their

Panpur habitat, as food becomes scarce for them. But these jumbos had

never strayed so far previously, almost close to Jamugurihat, says Bora.

 

The increasing conflict has become a matter of worry not only for the

wildlife activists, but also for the government. Though some action

has been taken by the department concerned in this regard, not much

gain has been made so far.

 

" We have adopted measures like constituting anti-depredation squads

involving the local community, going for power fencing, etc., but

these have not yielded satisfactory results so far, " said Bora

stressing the need for long-term measures to address the situation.

 

On November 13, one Samsul Ali, 60 years, of Kachamari village died in

an elephant attack.

 

Though environmentalists have been shouting hoarse over the depleting

forest covers, human encroachment in the forest areas has not stopped,

forcing the tuskers to stray out to nearby settlements.

 

Our Itakhola Correspondent adds: Padma Hazarika, local MLA and other

district officials visited the village and assured all possible help

to the people.

 

A procession was taken out with the bodies of the victims, and the

people demanded security of their lives and property from the tuskers.