ASSAM: Tea garden areas of Karimganj are on edge after attacks by wild elephants.

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ASSAM: Tea garden areas of Karimganj are on edge after attacks by wild elephants.

Attacks by wild Elephants

Silchar: Tension is running high in Betkhal tea estate and its neighboring villages in south Assam’s Karimganj district after attacks by wild elephants ran amok on Tuesday night.

Baitkhal falls under Pathar Kandi Assembly Constituency, about 96 km from Silchar city.

Residents of Betkhal said that a herd of four elephants strayed from the forest and entered the village at around 10:30 on Tuesday night. Jumbos reached residential areas, damaged houses, destroyed arable land and ate rice grains.

A group of people tried to scare Jumbo by lighting flames and pelting tin sheets, but the elephants continued their violent activities. Local people said that after causing havoc, they went back to the forest. No one was injured or killed, but the incident has spread panic among the local people.

District Forest Officer T Basanthan and Patharkandi Forest Range Officer Manoj Kumar Das arrived in Betkhal a day later, with firecrackers to stop the Jumbos from re-entering the area. The forest department officials also distributed crackers among the locals to use in case of another attack by the elephants.

Patharkandi BJP MLA Krishnaindu Pal told East Mojo on Thursday that he would take up the matter with the forest department and try to find a long-term solution soon.

Three months ago, a 58-year-old man, Shatruguna Balamakdas, was trampled by a wild elephant in Medli tea garden in Patharkandi.

Village elders said that it is the same herd of elephants that periodically come out of the forest in search of food and wreak havoc in residential areas.

“Earlier, there were nine elephants in the herd, but five of them died within a year. Many people, especially farmers, suffered a lot due to the violent activities of the elephants, but they never received any compensation from the government. A local said.

The villagers have called on the authorities to capture the wild elephants and relocate them to a safe place like a national park or a wildlife sanctuary.

The forest department has tried various methods in the past to ward off elephants, such as planting chillies and lemons in the border areas.

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