Wild Elephants Wreak Havoc in Bijni, Destroys Farmland

Bijni: A herd of wild elephants wreaked havoc in the India–Bhutan border region on Wednesday night, targeting several villages under the Bijni subdivision of Chirang district. The elephants, suspected of having ventured out in quest of food, damaged huge tracts of agricultural land of 3 and 2 No. Sikajhora villages, rendering farmers aghast.

According to the locals, the herd has raided farmland, destroying crops as well as long stretches of bettlenut plantations. They have further vandalised almost one bigha of land. Farmers reported that each household suffered an agricultural setback that will take years to recover from.

Furthermore, personnel from the Bishnupur Forest Beat Office visited the affected sites to assess the losses and gather details from the villagers. Locals have reported, such incidents have become more frequent during the last days, as elephant herds enter the area almost every night after dusk.

Residents now live in constant fear. They stated that if the situation is not urgently addressed, it may get worse and continue to endanger lives and livelihoods. The locals have raised their stern concerns about both livelihoods and safety as the occurrence of human–elephant conflict continues to increase along the border region.

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