A CORRESPONDENT
NAGAON: Panic and grief swept across Kachua in Assam’s Nagaon district after two people, including a woman, were killed in separate wild elephant attacks during the early hours of Saturday.
According to reports, a herd of wild elephants created havoc in Rangalu and Kandapara villages under Kachua Police Station at around 4 a.m. The deceased have been identified as Hanufa Khatun (45) of Rangalu Basti and Sahaj Uddin (42) of Kandapara.
Sources said that Hanufa Khatun was tragically dragged out of her house by a wild elephant and killed. In a separate incident, Sahaj Uddin lost his life in an elephant attack in Kandapara village. Soon after receiving information about the incidents, personnel from the police and forest departments rushed to the spot, assessed the situation, and recovered the bodies for post-mortem examination. Reports also indicate that at least two other persons sustained injuries in the attacks.
The twin fatalities have triggered widespread fear and mourning across the region. Local residents expressed strong resentment against the Forest Department, alleging negligence despite repeated warnings about the movement of wild elephants in the area. Villagers claimed that they had informed the Kampur Forest Range Office about the presence of the elephant herd on Thursday night, but no effective preventive measures were taken. Wild elephant depredation has become a recurring problem in Kachua and adjoining areas. Residents alleged that the Forest Department has repeatedly failed to drive elephant herds away from human settlements, leaving villagers vulnerable to attacks.
Demanding immediate intervention, local residents urged the government to provide adequate compensation to the families of the deceased and implement effective measures to protect people from the growing menace of wild elephants. Notably, with the latest incident, the death toll from wild elephant attacks in Nagaon district has risen to five over the past fifteen days, raising serious concerns over the escalating human-elephant conflict in the region.
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