News reports of Elephant Killing blunder in Assam

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www.assamtribune.com

 

Behali elephant killing draws flak

By A Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 20 – The State Forest Department today faced a volley

of condemnation for its recent role in allowing an elephant to be put

to death. Those who censured the Forest Department's decision included

local people, conservation activists, and even an elephant expert and

a geographer of repute.

 

Proceedings during a meet revealed that the elephant that was killed

on December 16 at the Behali Tea Estate could not possibly have been

the one for which a death warrant was issued. An interview with a

mahout and others revealed that the elephant killed was larger in size.

 

All those who had come together in a press meet organized by the

conservation group Nature's Bonyapran agreed that the there was " a

lack of substantial logic behind the proclamation of the elephant as a

rogue. "

 

Members of Nature's Bonyapran, WWF India, Aaranyak, Centre for

Environment Education, Ecosystems India, Dolphin Foundation, and

Natures' Beckon, taking part in the meet denounced " the frequent

proclamation of elephants as rogues without ascertaining facts. "

 

They were of the view that the Government authorities seemed keener to

proclaim displaced elephants as rogues than resolving issues like

encroachment and poaching. Government decisions could therefore be

perceived as being guided by vested interests than by scientific

considerations.

 

Questions were also raised about a person firing six bullets at the

elephant as reported in a section of the media. Media reports

suggested, " he is neither a licensee nor a retainer of the weapon used

for the purpose. "

 

All the participating groups asserted that they would challenge a

proclamation order terming the elephant as wild if it was done without

clearing the encroachment of the forestlands.

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www.sentinelassam.com

 

Forest land conservation, man-elephant conflict

Nature lovers seek CM's immediate intervention

By a Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 20: Rapid deforestation due to rampant encroachment in

the forest lands and lack of political will on the part of the

Government to prevent it resulted in the increasing man-elephant

conflict in Asom, which is still having the highest elephant

population in the country and considered to be the last bastion of the

Asian elephants.

Taking the cue from the recent execution of a `rouge' elephant, nick

named `Laden', at Bihali TE on Sunday last, as many as half a dozen

environmental organizations here virtually blamed the State

authorities and the Forest department in particular for the prevailing

situation. Besides, they think, naming an elephant after `one of the

most notorious terrorist of the world to justify its killing' was

unfortunate.

Citing the local experts and presenting video clippings, they claimed

that the elephant, killed by the hunter engaged by the Forest

department, was an innocent one, not that the elephant which was

targeted for. The environmental groups have denounced the frequent

proclamation of the elephants as rouges without ascertaining the facts

properly. The crucial issues like that of encroachment and destruction

of forests along with poaching and killing of wild animals are not

given adequate attention, which turned the situation worse, they alleged.

The environmental bodies, namely Nature's Bonyapran, Aranyak,

WWF-India, Dolphin Foundation, CEE-NE, Ecosystem-India and Uddipta

Chora have made a strong plea for immediate intervention of the Chief

Minister into the ever-increasing problem related to the conservation

of forest land cover in the State and man-elephant conflict.

According to them, reserve forests in the north bank of Brahmaputra

are almost vanished. For instance, out of the 14,016 hectares of

notified areas of the Bihali reserve forest scattered through the

border areas of the two neighbouring States of Asom and Arunachal

Pradesh, about 3,375 hectares of land are encroached by the illegal

settlers, said Ajoy Sarmah of the Nature's Bonyapran, a north Asom

group and recipient of the Chief Minister's Community Development Award.

The groups demanded a CBI inquiry into the ever-increasing

encroachment in the forest land. Gautam Narayan of the Eco

System-India said that the encroachers in the forest land are enjoying

`political safeguard' from the people siting in the top in the

administration. Political parties should also come forward to address

the problem properly, they said.