Silchar: Tensions are high and locals on the edge in Baithakhal tea garden and its neighbouring villages in southern Assam’s Karimganj district following rampage by a herd of wild elephants on Tuesday night.
Baithakhal falls under the Patharkandi assembly constituency, about 96km from Silchar town.
Residents of Baithakhal said a herd of four elephants strayed from the jungle and entered the village at about 10:30 pm on Tuesday. The jumbos reached residential areas, damaged houses, destroyed cultivable lands and devoured rice grains.
A group of people tried scaring the jumbos by burning flames (fire in bamboo sticks) and beating tin sheets, but the elephants continued their violent activities. After wreaking havoc, they went back into the jungle, locals said. No one was injured or killed, but the incident has sparked panic among locals.
District forest officer T. Basanthan and Patharkandi forest range officer Manoj Kumar Das reached Baithakhal a day later, with firecrackers to keep the jumbos from entering the area again. The forest officials also distributed crackers among the locals to use in case of another visit by the elephants.
Patharkandi BJP MLA Krishnendu Paul told EastMojo on Thursday that he would take up the matter with the forest department and try chalking out a long-term solution soon.
Three months ago, 58-year-old man Shatrugna Balmikdas was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Medli tea garden in Patharkandi. Besides, more people and domestic pets like cows, calves and goats have been killed and hundreds of bighas of paddy fields and croplands destroyed by the elephants in different areas of Patharkandi over the last five years.
Village elders said it is the same herd of elephants that comes out of the jungle in search of food every now and then and creates havoc in the residential areas.
“Earlier, there were nine elephants in the herd, but five of them died over the years. Many people, especially farmers, suffered huge losses because of the elephants’ violent activities, but they never received any compensation from the government,” said a local.
Villagers have been demanding the authorities to catch the wild elephants and shift them to a protected place like a national park or a wildlife sanctuary.
The forest department has tried various methods to ward off the elephants in the past, like farming of chilli and lemon in border areas, artificial creation of sound of bees through a machine and distribution of fire-crackers among locals, but never succeeded in getting a permanent solution.
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