(IN): Jumbos add to Majuli’s misery

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071012/asp/guwahati/story_8425222.asp

 

Jumbos add to Majuli's misery

- Caught between the 'devil' & the deep river, residents seek a solution A

STAFF REPORTER

 

Guwahati, Oct. 11: If the river does not get you, the elephants will.

 

Majuli's flood and erosion-ravaged people now have a new problem to deal

with — a herd of 100-strong elephants which have made the island its home.

 

With vast areas of island already inundated, the people are now being forced

to give up their precious little land to the herd.

 

" The people of Majuli will have to vacate the island to make space for the

elephants if a scientific solution is not found soon to chase the herd away

for good. The area of the island is decreasing every day and the population

of the elephants is increasing, " said Monoj Bora, a social worker.

 

" With lush sugarcane and paddy fields and Kaziranga-like vegetation, the

herd has found an ideal home in Majuli and the small islands along the

river. All our efforts to chase away the herd have failed completely, "

assistant conservator of Jorhat forest division Gunin Saikia said.

 

The problem has been compounded by the fact that the elephants are no longer

afraid of gunshots, which are generally used to frighten them away.

 

" If chased from one island, they move to another island, only to return few

days later, " Saikia said.

 

The herd arrived in Majuli last year, probably from Arunachal Pradesh, in

search of food. Elephants are known to migrate in herds but they usually go

back to their original habitat, but this one shows no signs of returning.

 

The herd has already damaged crops and houses on the island. Last night,

too, the elephants attacked a village at Bhakat *chapori*, damaging six

houses.

 

Considered the seat of Sattriya culture — with its numerous Vaishnavite

monasteries — Majuli has been waging a grim battle for survival against the

ravages of the Brahmaputra.

 

The state government's efforts to get Majuli a world heritage site tag from

Unesco, too, has not borne fruit so far.

 

Now this invading herd has only added to the list of Majuli's miseries.

[image:

Top]<http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071012/asp/guwahati/story_8425222.asp#top>

 

--

Fight captive Jumbo abuse, end Elephant Polo

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com