Now, man & animal collide
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GUWAHATI:
Just when the prolonged ethnic violence between Bodos and
Bengali-speaking Muslims in the Bodoland Territorial Area District
(BTAD) - an administrative set up under Sixth Schedule of the
Constitution - which left nearly 100 people dead and over four lakh
displaced between July and September this year is beginning to ebb, Assam has been caught up in the throes of another conflict, albeit of a different kind.
This time, the conflict in Assam is between man and elephant, and has taken an almost vicious turn at the peak of the paddy harvesting season. On December 19, four people were trampled to death by wild elephants - three in Krishnai area of Goalpara district and one in Hojai area of Nagaon district. Also, more than 100 houses were damaged by elephants in Mariani area of Jorhat district.
At least 70 people and not less than 10 elephants have been killed so far in confrontations in different parts of the state. The elephant casualties took place in a short duration spanning November-December, the crucial paddy harvesting time in the state.
Villagers on the fringes of Khalingduar Reserve Forest and Bornodi Wildlife Sanctuary along the India-Bhutan border in BTAD's Udalguri district, about 170km from Guwahati, are spending sleepless nights. With a large herd of wild elephants from Bhutan crossing over to raid croplands in the plains almost every day since November, the locals are in a confrontational mode. Five people were trampled to death when they attempted to chase the herd and four jumbos were killed in the past two months.
"This being a dry season, there is a scarcity of food in the jungles. So, jumbos are raiding croplands as an easy source of food. This has resulted in man-animal conflict intensifying in the border areas," said Ananta Bagh, a conservation volunteer at Nonaipara area in Udalguri.
Last week, a 60-strong herd entered Paneri area of district, and it took the forest department and local people three days to drive the herd away.
"We've had some respite for the last four days. Otherwise, jumbos were entering human settlements and raiding crops every day. We have deployed three teams in three conflict-prone areas for rapid response in chasing away elephants. Four trained elephants have also been pressed into service to assist in driving away wild jumbos," divisional forest officer of Dhansiri wildlife division, Bankim Sarma said.
Sarma said the biggest problem in chasing away elephant herds is human mobs. "Most human casualties are due to mob action and driving away elephants in an unorganized manner," he added.
The conflict is not confined to places in the BTAD. Almost 11 out of 27 districts in the state are in the grips of human-elephant conflict. "We are trying both short and long-term measures to mitigate human-elephant conflict. But, unfortunately, the conflict persists. We have planned to cover more areas under solar-powered electric fencing to prevent elephants from entering villages. As a short-term measure, we have asked our department personnel to intensify patrolling and are using trained elephants to chase away wild herds. Recently, there was a meeting in New Delhi of the chief wildlife wardens of all elephant-bearing states where conflict mitigation measures were discussed," Assam chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand said.
Assam has an estimated 5,620 wild elephants, according to the forest department. Destruction of their habitats with the expansion of agricultural land, development projects and encroachment of forest land has aggravated the conflict. The forest along the India-Bhutan border and Sonitpur district bordering Arunachal Pradesh have seen large-scale destruction, primarily due to the expanding tea cultivations and encroachment by humans.
Golaghat in upper Assam was one of the few districts spared deaths due to man-elephant conflict during the harvest season. According to honorary wildlife warden of the district Arup Ballav Goswami, two elephants died of electrocution in November-December. He added that although croplands and houses were damaged by jumbos, the conflict has not taken a deadly turn as yet. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)'s four-lane expressway passes through Assam's Lumding Reserve Forest, a "crucial" corridor for migration of elephants. According to the Elephant Task Force (ETF) report, Assam has recorded a staggering 36 per cent of total elephant casualties due to train-hits since 1987 - the highest in the country.
As the conflict intensifies, the number of injured elephants has also increased. "The last two months have been really bad for elephants in Assam because of the increase in human-elephant conflict," CWRC veterinarian, Abhijit Bhawal said. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Bokakhat in Golaghat had to treat two injured elephants last month and rescued two calves in the past four days.
This time, the conflict in Assam is between man and elephant, and has taken an almost vicious turn at the peak of the paddy harvesting season. On December 19, four people were trampled to death by wild elephants - three in Krishnai area of Goalpara district and one in Hojai area of Nagaon district. Also, more than 100 houses were damaged by elephants in Mariani area of Jorhat district.
At least 70 people and not less than 10 elephants have been killed so far in confrontations in different parts of the state. The elephant casualties took place in a short duration spanning November-December, the crucial paddy harvesting time in the state.
Villagers on the fringes of Khalingduar Reserve Forest and Bornodi Wildlife Sanctuary along the India-Bhutan border in BTAD's Udalguri district, about 170km from Guwahati, are spending sleepless nights. With a large herd of wild elephants from Bhutan crossing over to raid croplands in the plains almost every day since November, the locals are in a confrontational mode. Five people were trampled to death when they attempted to chase the herd and four jumbos were killed in the past two months.
"This being a dry season, there is a scarcity of food in the jungles. So, jumbos are raiding croplands as an easy source of food. This has resulted in man-animal conflict intensifying in the border areas," said Ananta Bagh, a conservation volunteer at Nonaipara area in Udalguri.
Last week, a 60-strong herd entered Paneri area of district, and it took the forest department and local people three days to drive the herd away.
"We've had some respite for the last four days. Otherwise, jumbos were entering human settlements and raiding crops every day. We have deployed three teams in three conflict-prone areas for rapid response in chasing away elephants. Four trained elephants have also been pressed into service to assist in driving away wild jumbos," divisional forest officer of Dhansiri wildlife division, Bankim Sarma said.
Sarma said the biggest problem in chasing away elephant herds is human mobs. "Most human casualties are due to mob action and driving away elephants in an unorganized manner," he added.
The conflict is not confined to places in the BTAD. Almost 11 out of 27 districts in the state are in the grips of human-elephant conflict. "We are trying both short and long-term measures to mitigate human-elephant conflict. But, unfortunately, the conflict persists. We have planned to cover more areas under solar-powered electric fencing to prevent elephants from entering villages. As a short-term measure, we have asked our department personnel to intensify patrolling and are using trained elephants to chase away wild herds. Recently, there was a meeting in New Delhi of the chief wildlife wardens of all elephant-bearing states where conflict mitigation measures were discussed," Assam chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand said.
Assam has an estimated 5,620 wild elephants, according to the forest department. Destruction of their habitats with the expansion of agricultural land, development projects and encroachment of forest land has aggravated the conflict. The forest along the India-Bhutan border and Sonitpur district bordering Arunachal Pradesh have seen large-scale destruction, primarily due to the expanding tea cultivations and encroachment by humans.
Golaghat in upper Assam was one of the few districts spared deaths due to man-elephant conflict during the harvest season. According to honorary wildlife warden of the district Arup Ballav Goswami, two elephants died of electrocution in November-December. He added that although croplands and houses were damaged by jumbos, the conflict has not taken a deadly turn as yet. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)'s four-lane expressway passes through Assam's Lumding Reserve Forest, a "crucial" corridor for migration of elephants. According to the Elephant Task Force (ETF) report, Assam has recorded a staggering 36 per cent of total elephant casualties due to train-hits since 1987 - the highest in the country.
As the conflict intensifies, the number of injured elephants has also increased. "The last two months have been really bad for elephants in Assam because of the increase in human-elephant conflict," CWRC veterinarian, Abhijit Bhawal said. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Bokakhat in Golaghat had to treat two injured elephants last month and rescued two calves in the past four days.
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