A Correspondent
Boko: Conflicts between humans and elephants are growing daily in the West Kamrup Divisional Forest region. The Hasi-Muhipara village's residents notified the forest department on Monday morning after discovering an elephant carcass on a paddy field within the Bondapara Forest Range.
Range Officer Animesh Kalita along with a forest staff reached the spot immediately and started investigating the matter. Meanwhile, people of the Bondapara area alleged that the elephant died due to the electrocution.
According to the villagers, the wild elephant was with 40 to 50 other elephants, and when it passed away, the herd of elephants continued to roam within a kilometre of the deceased elephant.
Arabinda Rabha from Bondapara alleged that due to the illegal encroachment in the reserve forest areas, the man- elephant conflicts are increasing day by day.
However, unnamed Boko villagers claimed that smugglers exploit the darkness with excavators, tractors, and dumpers to mine forest lands in various areas under the West Kamrup Division at night, which is the cause of the abrupt rise in man-elephant conflicts. Due to that, wild elephants are afraid of it and constantly change their resting areas at night hours. “Therefore wild elephants enter the villages, paddy fields and so on.”
On the other hand, Ranger Animesh Kalita said that the veterinary doctors initially confirmed that the adult female elephant died due to the electrocution and had a male baby in her womb. Additionally, he promised that the inquiry is ongoing and that those responsible will face the consequences.
On Tuesday, another carcass of a wild elephant was found on a paddy field in Dabli Birpara village in Krishnai Forest Range under Dudhnoi LAC. The wild elephant's trunk, claws, and tail were severed by miscreants, according to the forest officer. “Together with the Dudhnoi Police, we are beginning an investigation into this matter. Veterinary professionals will perform a postmortem on the elephant to determine the cause of death,” added forest officials of the Goalpara Divisional Forest Department. According to forest officials, veterinary professionals stressed that the cause of the elephant's death would have been known if the trunk had been discovered.
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