Doomdooma: Growing human-elephant encounters in and around the Doomdooma Forest Division of Assam’s Tinsukia district have prompted renewed calls for coordinated measures to reduce conflict and protect people, crops, property and elephants.
The issue was discussed at a meeting at the Tea City Guest House in Doomdooma on Thursday, where legislator Rupesh Gowala said plans were reviewed to reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflict under the Doomdooma Forest Division.
“Detailed discussions were held on the plans to be undertaken for reducing the risk of human-wildlife conflict under the Doomdooma Forest Division,” Gowala said in a statement.
He said proposals were also discussed on measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict within the Doomdooma constituency in the coming days. Legislator Bolin Chetia was also present at the meeting, he added.
The Assam Forest Department’s working plan for the Doomdooma Division identifies the “ever increasing” man-elephant conflict as a serious concern. It attributes the pressure partly to rising population and shrinking wildlife habitat, and notes repeated damage to paddy and other agricultural crops around forest areas.
The 2024 Assam Elephant Population Estimation recorded 167 elephants in the Doomdooma Forest Division, including significant populations in Burhidihing, Kakojan, Tokouwani, Kukuramara and other reserve forests. The census also recorded elephants outside conventional forest habitats, highlighting the role of human-dominated landscapes in conflict management.
Recent incidents have underscored the risks. In July 2026, a female elephant died after being electrocuted by an alleged illegal electric fence at Balijan near Duarmara Reserve Forest. A local man was subsequently arrested.
Days later, 56-year-old Chanju Urang was killed by a wild elephant at Na Bormura Miripathar Dhola under the Saikhowa Range of the Doomdooma Forest Division.
The Assam-specific conflict assessment also identifies Doomdooma among the forest divisions requiring targeted mitigation, particularly to address elephant deaths caused by electrocution.
The census and the Doomdooma working plan point to habitat management and community participation as key components of efforts to reduce human-elephant conflict, alongside measures to protect elephant movement corridors, livelihoods and human safety.