Man-animal conflict surges in N Bengal, deaths on rise

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 30 October 2019 | Darjeeling: Multiple deaths have been reported in the past few days from North Bengal due to issues pertaining to man-animal conflict.

Three persons were killed by elephants in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday.

In a separate incident, seven persons were seriously injured by a bison in the same district. The mangled bodies of 45-year-old Gaona Oraon and his 38-year-old wife Kumari were found on Ramsai Maynaguri road. Around 3 km away, the body of Budhanu Lakra (36 years) of Kalamati was also found. Tea estate workers said the deceased Oraon couple had gone to a Kali puja pandal and were returning home to the Jadavpur tea estate around midnight when the incident might had taken place.

Though there were no eyewitnesses, there were signs like presence of elephant dung pointing to the death of the couple from elephant attack.

Tea garden workers and local residents staged a demonstration claiming that the foresters were not taking adequate steps to prevent such deaths. They even blocked the Ramsai Mainaguri road in demand of adequate compensation.

Rapid Action Force and Shashastra Seema Bal personnel were called in to bring the situation under control.

Later with assurances from foresters, the blockade was lifted and the residents allowed the police to take the bodies of the couple for post-mortem. The Oraon couple is survived by their three children. "We are working for the rehabilitation of the children," said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Nisha Goswami. Compensation for such deaths is to the tune of Rs 4 lakh. As both the parents of these children have died they will get Rs 8 lakh.

In another incident, a bison entered Karbala tea estate in the Jalpaiguri district and attacked seven persons, who suffered serious injuries, during the incident on Tuesday.

Finally, the bison was tranquilised and died. On Sunday night, a labourer was killed by a jumbo in Gopalpur Tea Estate of Madarihat Birpara Block in the Alipurduar district.

The man was identified as 53-year-old Brijmohan Kharia. He had gone to the reservoir when the elephant attacked and killed him. On October 26, a temporary elephant handler was flung to the ground by a female elephant in Jaldapara. Thirty-four-year-old Chaurey Majhi died in the hospital on Monday.

On Wednesday, panic struck in Falalata in Alipurduar with CCTV footages of shops showing an elephant roaming on the streets in the wee hours. Foresters were informed. They claimed it was a stray elephant and that it had returned to the herd.

"Man-animal conflict is on the rise owing to encroachment of forest areas, including unplanned urbanisation and expansion. Even wild animal corridors are not spared. If we are not cautious and there is no check, such incidents will increase and situation will further deteriorate," said Ujjwal Ghosh, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Wildlife (North).