Jaldapara: Mahouts stage stir, elephant safari suspended

MP| 14 Apr 2023 | Alipurduar: On Friday, 145 temporary Mahouts and ‘Patawalas’ (men who collect leaves as fodder for elephants) at Jaldapara National Park stopped work indefinitely, demanding permanent employment. 

As a result, elephant safaris are closed for tourists. Forest conservation is also affected as patrolling in the deep jungles using elephants has come to a grinding halt. 

Amal Oraon, a temporary Mahout, stated: “We are getting only Rs 7,240 as salary from the Forest department in this expensive market. The recruitment process for the vacant positions of permanent mahouts and ‘Patawalas’ has been suspended since 1997.” 

“If any mahout or ‘Patawala’ dies in an accident while at work, their family members are not given any jobs. They only receive the insurance amount and their medical expenses from the Forest department,” he added. 

“We have stopped working, but we will continue to feed the elephants. If our demands are not given importance and discussed by the Forest department within three days, we will abandon all responsibilities of feeding and taking care of the elephants from the fourth day,” he added. 

Another Mahout, Nirmal Kujur, said: “We are not making any unjust demands, and now it is necessary for the Forest department to come to a decision. Otherwise, we will not change our decisions at any cost.” 

Deepak M, the DFO of Jaldapara Wildlife Division, said that they had already applied for approval from the State Finance Department to hire one permanent mahout and one permanent ‘Patawala’ for each elephant in the region. He hopes that they will get approval for the employment process soon. 

The DFO further stated: “We have talked to them and will sit down with the protesters on Saturday for a discussion.” Biswajit Saha, the Assistant Secretary of the Alipurduar District Tourism Association, said this would affect tourism. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/no-respite-mercury-breaches-40-degree-c-mark-in-s-bengal-dists-515257?infinitescroll=1