On elephant back for poll duty Plea for jumbos to ferry officials

TT, July 10: The Jalpaiguri district administration has asked for forest department elephants to ferry officials and security personnel for the panchayat elections to remote booths in Jalpaiguri that cannot be accessed by road.

There is a small glitch though. The kunkis are “employees” of the forest department.

“According to the rules of the Election Commission of India, none of the staff members or vehicles of the forest department can be used for polls. As the pet elephants, too, are employees, they cannot be engaged for polls,” a forest department official said over phone from Calcutta on condition of anonymity.

He, however, suggested a way out of the problem.

“In case the services of the elephants are required, special permission should be taken by the state election commission from the Election Commission of India. We hope the permission was taken before the letter was sent to us,” the official said.

Smaraki Mahapatra, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, said: “Some booths located in remote areas of the district lack motorable roads. Also, there are areas where the road has been washed away by rivers over the past couple of days (when several rivers in north Bengal flooded their banks). We have decided to engage some pet elephants to ensure that polling personnel and security guards reach these booths without any inconvenience.”

Mahapatra said the district administration had written to “the state election commission and obtained the necessary permission for the purpose. A letter has been sent to the forest department as well, asking for the elephants.”

Officials in the district panchayat and rural development department said they were preparing a tentative list of places where the kunkis could be sent ferrying polling officials and security personnel.

“There are at least three areas, Khayerkata in Nagrakata block, Sachepho forest busty and Hatipota in Kumargram block and Jayanti in Kalchini block where we need elephants to reach the booths,” said an official in the district panchayat and rural development department.

“Taking into account the possibility of heavy rain in the coming days, damage caused to roads and culverts in the past few days and rise in water level in the rivers and streams, we can say we might need elephants to travel to some more booths. All block development officers in the district have been instructed to inform us about the booths where elephants are needed,” the official added.

Elephants would be required to reach Khayerkata as the sole diversion bridge leading to the place was washed away in the rain on Monday. Khayerkata is in Nagrakata block and is cut off from the rest of the district at present.

According to forest officers, there are 12 adult elephants in Gorumara National Park and around 55 in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary.

“We have received a letter from the district administration seeking the services of the elephants for the rural polls scheduled for July 25 in the Jalpaiguri district,” said Sumita Ghatak, the divisional forest officer, wildlife II.

The district administration has not mentioned the exact number of elephants needed for polling duty.

“It is up to the forest department to decide. We are ready to provide trucks for the transportation of the elephants to the locations where the animals can be taken by road from Gorumara or Jaldapara forest,” said a district administration official.

The foresters said elephants required for Jayanti could be transported to the Buxa-Jayanti Road from where the animals could walk to the booths.

For Khayerkata, the nearest location where the elephants can be taken by road is Sulkapara More. Elephants required for Sachepho can be brought till Phaskowa or Jayanti Tea Estate.

A district official said he could remember only one occasion when elephants were used to transport officials and materials to booths for the rural polls before this.

“I can’t say the year when the elephants were used to carry the polling officials and materials. Previously, as polls were held during the summer or the winter seasons, there was no need to cross the swollen streams. Moreover, if the elephants can be used, why should the officials walk for kilometres with polling materials?” he asked.

In some cases, the polling officials will have to trek to the booths located in the Buxa hills.

“There are booths in areas like Chunabhati and Lepchakha in the Buxa hills near the Buxa Fort. From Santlabari, where the motorable road ends, they will have to trek for 5-7km to reach the booths. We are mulling over a proposal to send polling personnel to some of the booths via Bhutan also because of the miserable conditions of some roads,” said a district official.