The rising casualties of man-elephant conflict in Udalguri district has been a cause for concern in the recent years. A memorandum was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri,Dilip Kumar Das at the latter’s office in Udalguri on Friday.
The memorandum submitted on behalf of the affected villagers jointly by noted wildlife activist, Nabajyoti Baruah;nature lovers,Mithu Sarkar,Dibakar Nayak,Ranjit Tanti and journalist,Purvajyoti Medhi.
The memorandum stated that the herds of wild elephants straying into tea gardens and villages from Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary and Khalingduar Reserve Forest has claimed as many as 189 human lives and 49 elephants during 2006-18 period till date besides damaging thousands of and more than 1000 hectares of paddy fields.
The memorandum highlighting the issue have listed five point charter arrangements including roping in trained Kumki elephants in affected villages to drive away herds of wild elephants, distribution of high powered flashlights to villagers, organizing awareness camps and co-ordination of forest personals with villagers to keep a vigil on the movement of herds on daily basis; guidelines to the tea garden authorities and organizations for the safety and security of the border populace; construction of watch towers at specific areas to help the villagers keep track on the herds.
Deputy Commissioner, Das on his part has assured of looking up for viable solution plans with the help of wildlife experts for mitigating the menace.
