Forest dept alert to prevent elephant deaths

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI, Siliguri, 26 Oct 2014 : Alarmed over the deaths of four adult elephants in north Bengal due to electrocution, the West Bengal Forest Department has taken a slew of measures which includes giving cash awards to people who inform forest officials about such deadly traps for the pachyderms.

But the forest department is worried if the wild herds are attacked and electrocuted inside Nepal. The foresters are trying hard to stop wild elephants’ herd from entering inside the territory of Nepal after the report of threat from Nepalese citizens to kill the wild herds.

The Echo of India has received information from Nepalese citizens of poisoning and electrocution if any wild herd enters their farm land.

A Nepali citizen of Baundangi who preferred to remain anonymous told EOIC that the Indian foresters pushed the wild herds inside eastern Nepal every night. He said that despite of several request made to the Indian counterpart the wild herd destroys the corps and property.

An elderly women from Baundangi said, “When a wild elephant dies several people raise voices and media carries stories but if villagers are killed by the attack of the elephant no one comes. We too have sympathy over wild elephants but how can we survive if all the corps are destroyed?”

Almost all the Nepali citizens have guarded their farmland with electric fencings and well prepared to stop the wild herds from entering their territory.

A meeting has been concluded recently in their village to discuss about the measures to protect the farmland from the elephants. The meeting decided that at least one member of the family has to join the group to keep watch along Indo-Nepal border throughout the night.

When asked, forest officials under Kurseong range said that they had not yet received the reports from the Nepal side but have asked their staff to confine the wild herds within Indian territories.