Wildlife experts reject Army's proposal; Dispur clueless

RELOCATION OF WILD ELEPHANTS FROM AMCHANG

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Leading wildlife experts and organizations have rejected the Army's proposal to Dispur for relocation of wild elephants from the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Joint Director of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) DrRathin Barman told The Sentinel that the Army's proposal is simply impractical and a Herculean task. He said that elephants are not small animals which could be transported and relocated so easily.

"Massive resources, mechanism, funds and expertise will be required to relocate wildlife animals from Amchang," added Dr Barman. He further said that the government will have to think of a long-term plan to prevent the Amchang wild elephants in search of food from reaching the human habitations especially in the Narengi Cantonment areas.

In a letter written to the Assam government, Major General JarkenGamlin, the General Officer Commanding of Headquarters 51 Sub Area, Narengi Cantonment, said that wild elephants from Amchang cause "substantial damage not only to infrastructure but also to critical logistic stores" at the station.

The letter was written to the then Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna on July 3, 2020; but has come to light now following an RTI plea by environmental activist RohitChoudhury.

The sanctuary is estimated to be home to around 50 elephants. In the letter, Gamlin had raised concerns about "three elephants that have caused maximum damages".

"With the ever increasing threat to life and property, the only workable option available, to my mind, is to relocate these elephants. Frequency of these attacks have increased in the last six months resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 15 lakh approximately and still counting," the Army official said in the letter.

DrBibhabTalukdar, secretary general and CEO of Aaranyak said that shifting of wild elephants from one site to another is not that easy. "It may reduce the problem to some extent in one area, but it could trigger new problems in the location where the elephants will be released," he said.

"Rather than shifting a problem from one area to another, the government agencies need to look at the issue from a long-term perspective. Providing easy food to wild animals should always be avoided in civil areas," added DrTalukdar.

The Narengi Station has been serving as the "logistic hub" for the Army in Northeast. In 2002, the Army initiated a project to install iron barricades to keep elephants away from "critical assets". In 2019, the rows of sharp iron spikes had to be removed due to safety concerns for elephants raised by the Forest Department. Two elephants suspected to have stepped on the spikes had died of septicemia in 2018-2019, while several others were injured.

"Since the dismantling of that iron barricade, cases of elephant depredation have increased. In addition, there have also been instances wherein unsuspecting soldiers and their families have been attacked by the elephants," the Army letter said.

Dispur as usual is looking the other way and appears to be clueless on this issue.

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