Tea workers rescue jumbo calf

TT, 21 Jul 2019, Alipurduar: Tea estate dwellers in Alipurduar rescued an elephant calf on Saturday morning that had got stuck in a reservoir of the garden on Friday night.

The residents of Tulsipara tea estate alleged that though the forest officials of Dalgaon Forest Range office were informed, none reached the spot in time, which made them take the initiative.

Sources said around 11pm on Friday, the tea workers came to know that an elephant herd has entered the garden.

"We stayed indoors but later at night, we felt that something has gone wrong as we could hear an elephant shrieking continuously and also a feeble cry of another elephant, that we suspected to be a calf, could also be heard," said Gopal Sarki, a resident.

Around 5am, a group of workers went to the spot and found that the calf was stuck in the reservoir. They suspect that the calf might had slipped into the reservoir while the herd was crossing the area.

"The mother of the calf was standing near the tank and as some of us tried to approach the calf she gave us a chase, said a worker.

The workers planned alternatives and could find an excavator nearby as construction of a road was going on in the area.

"We could persuade the driver and got the excavator near the tank. The mother elephant was agitated and attacked the excavator. We somehow managed to drive the mother elephant away and the driver broke one of the walls of the reservoir. As water flowed out of the reservoir, the calf could easily come out of it and it was rescued," said a worker.

The workers then guided the calf to her mother.

"Both the animals entered the Lankapara forest and mingled into the herd. It is an achievement for us," a resident said.

On earlier occasions, it has been found that elephant calves rescued have been abandoned by the herd.

Senior forest officials have appreciated the residents' efforts. "There was a confusion as which forest range would handle the incident which is why our men got delayed. They, however, had been to the spot. It is good that local people rescued the calf and could even put it back into the herd," said V.K. Sood, additional principal conservator of forests (north Bengal).