A tragic incident was reported from Maharanipur, within the jurisdiction of the Teliamura police station in the Khowai district of Tripura, where an 85-year-old man named Nirudh Chowdhury lost his life in a wild elephant attack on Sunday evening.
According to reports, Chowdhury was attacked by a wild elephant while he was returning home from a local temple. The incident took place at around 6:30 p.m. in the Maharanipur Kamalatilla area of Teliamura.
Speaking to the media, Ranjan Chowdhury, the son of the deceased, shared that his father had come to his residence for dinner before heading to the local temple. On his way back to his ancestral home, he was attacked by an elephant.
Ranjan further revealed that his father’s residence had been destroyed in a previous wild elephant rampage a few months ago.
The incident has left the locals living in fear of further wild elephant attacks. Many residents have attributed the tragedy to the negligence of forest department officials.
When forest officials, police, and journalists arrived to investigate the incident, they faced resistance from the agitating locals. In response, the District Magistrate of Khowai district, Chandni Chandra, has ordered the District Forest Officer to tranquilise the elephant responsible for the damage and rehabilitate it to the elephant camp in Mungiakami or an appropriate alternative location within 72 hours.
According to reports, there have been approximately 26-27 incidents of elephant-human conflict in Tripura over the past year. In January, a herd of wild elephants caused significant damage by demolishing several mud houses in the same locality, leading to protests and national highway blockades.
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Just a day after Tripura Forest Minister Bikash Debbarma assured measures to mitigate human-animal conflicts in the Khowai district, another wild elephant attack was reported in Chakmaghat, resulting in damage to homes and properties.
A report from the state Forest Department a few years ago indicated that Tripura’s elephant population consisted of 102, including 42 wild elephants and 60 in captivity.
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