Camera vigil on a herd of 150 elephants wandering across various ranges of Kurseong forest division

Farmers of Naxalbari and Matigara blocks of Siliguri subdivision often face elephant depredation as they devour paddy almost ready for harvest

Bireswar Banerjee, TT, Siliguri, 23.10.24 : A herd of 150-odd elephants wandering across various ranges of the Kurseong forest division in the Terai over the past couple of weeks has prompted the department to take the help of technology in a bid to avert human-animal conflict.

The presence of so many elephants in and around Bagdogra — along a part of the elephant corridor in north Bengal that stretches from the Mechi river near the Nepal border to the Sankosh river at the Bengal-Assam border — has made foresters rely on CCTV cameras to help their teams on the ground.

Devesh Pandey, the divisional forest officer of Kurseong, said that they introduced digital surveillance and set up CCTV cameras in all such locations through which the elephants might enter villages.

“We have identified strategic points which the elephants use to enter villagers in search of fodder and set up CCTV cameras there. Our staff keeps round-the-clock watch on the cameras from a command office set up at the Bagdogra forest range office,” said Pandey.

“If elephants are noticed near these places, messages are passed to the quick response teams (QRTs) to rush to such spots and steer the animals back to the forest,” he added.

In the foothills, the forest division comprises Bagdogra, Panighata, Naxalbari, and Tukuriajhar forest ranges that cover the elephant corridor in the Terai.

Every year, during October-end, elephant herds move along the corridor. Farmers of Naxalbari and Matigara blocks of the Siliguri subdivision often face elephant depredation as the animals devour the paddy almost ready for harvest.

As of now, six QRTs are working under the forest division. Each team comprises at least seven staff, including forest guards and casual workers inducted as Gaja Mitra (elephant's friend) and Aranya Sathi (friend of the forest).

Sources in the department said these initiatives have started helping. Last year, 16 persons died in elephant attacks in the division. The department had to pay around ₹50 lakh as compensation for crop and other damages caused by elephants. This year, the number of human casualties has come down to four. So has the quantum of compensation. A compensation of around ₹20 lakh has been paid for crops and other damages so far, sources said.

Lone elephant

Foresters, spotting a lone elephant in the adjacent areas of Tukuriajhar forest near Kharibari, suspect it has a leg injury.

“We have contacted vets at the Bengal Safari. Arrangements will soon be made to treat the animal,” said a forest official.