Elephants rescued after being swept away by overflowing Teesta

Dibyendu Sinha, MP, 19 June 2024, Jalpaiguri: Two elephants, along with a cub, were washed away while crossing an overflowing river on Tuesday night in the Teesta Barrage area adjacent to Baikunthapur Forest. 

After several hours of efforts, forest workers, with the help of barrage workers, rescued the elephants by opening the gate of the Gajoldoba Teesta Barrage. According to a source from the Belakoba Range of the Baikunthapur Forest Division, a herd of around 100 elephants has been in the Belakoba Forest for the past few weeks. Occasionally, the group travels across the Teesta River for food. 

On Tuesday night, the group was in the Milan Palli area near the Teesta River. While crossing the river, some members of the group were swept away. 

Belakoba Range Officer Chiranjit Pal said: “Two other elephants jumped into the water to rescue the cub. Three elephants floated near the barrage. After this, the elephants were rescued with the help of barrage staff.
There were about eleven elephants in the group. The group is being monitored.” Meanwhile, Teesta Barrage staff Prafulla Bala said: “At 12 o’clock in the night, three elephants got stuck at gate number 15 of the barrage. 

The three elephants were also hurt by the water and the lock gate. As soon as the matter was noticed, the local residents and forest workers were informed. Attempts were made to rescue them, but it was not possible due to high water levels. 

Finally, the gate had to be opened, and the elephants floated away. Later on, the elephants managed to get up on the other side of the river.” 

Although the water levels of the Teesta and Jaldhaka rivers have slightly reduced, communication between Angrabhasa and Banku Bazar has been cut off due to the breakdown of the culvert under construction in the Chachar Jhora area in Banarhat Block. 

Water has entered several Gram Panchayat areas. 

“There is a possibility of heavy rain lashing the northern districts for the next four to five days. An orange alert has been issued for Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling,” said Gopinath Raha, an official of the Sikkim Meteorological department. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/elephants-rescued-after-being-swept-away-by-overflowing-teesta-568609