Boko: A tragic incident unfolded in the early hours of Wednesday when a herd of wild elephants killed a farmer, Warlington W Sangma, 63, as he was guarding his paddy field in Tangabari, located within the Jongakhuli Reserve Forest in Boko.
Sangma, a resident of Rajapara village near Jongakhuli, had climbed a tree to guard his crops when he was attacked and fatally trampled.
The human-elephant conflict in Boko has intensified in recent weeks. Villagers reported that several community members were stationed around their paddy fields—many of which are on forest land—to guard against the elephants when the herd attacked. Sangma was reportedly dragged and trampled to death by the elephants during the encounter.
This fatal incident follows another tragedy last Sunday, where a wild elephant died due to electrocution in nearby Pakharapara village, also under the jurisdiction of the Singra Forest Range Office. In response, local residents had installed electric wiring around their fields as a deterrent against the elephants, escalating the tension.
The body of the deceased farmer has been recovered by Boko Police and Singra Forest Range officials and sent to GMCH for post-mortem examination.
Subodh Talukdar, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of West Kamrup, expressed grave concern over the surge in man-elephant conflicts, attributing the issue to increasing encroachment and deforestation within reserve forest lands. “Villagers are clearing forest areas to cultivate crops like bananas, areca nuts, pineapples, and paddy, which creates food scarcity for the elephants, leading them to raid these farmlands,” Talukdar said.
He further emphasised the urgency of addressing encroachment, as locals are now demanding the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, which grants forest-dwelling communities rights to land and resources. “We will need to survey the encroached areas thoroughly to identify unauthorized settlements and take appropriate actions,” Talukdar added.
In response to the escalating conflicts, Singra Range Officer Bhargab Hazarika and his team have been using loudspeakers to raise awareness among villagers in conflict-prone areas such as Tengabari, Moman, Hahim, Rowmari, and Dlinga. Ranger Hazarika urged villagers to keep clear pathways for elephants to travel, in hopes of reducing encounters with humans.
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