GUWAHATI, Nov 4 - The Indian Army has asked the Chief Secretary of the State to �relocate� the elephants of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in the city in view of the damages caused by these pachyderms to the facilities at the Narengi Military Station, or otherwise, to pay compensation for the losses caused by them. This came to light from a letter written by Major General Jarken Gamlin, General Officer Commanding, 51 Sub Area Headquarters on July 3, 2020. A copy of the letter has been obtained by RTI-cum-environment activist Rohit Choudhury through an RTI application. According to a rough estimate, there are over 40 elephants in the Amchang WLS.
In the letter, Major General Gamlin stated, �With ever- increasing threat to life and property, the only workable option available, to my mind, is to relocate these elephants (especially three elephants which have caused maximum damages). In case relocation of elephants is not a feasible proposition, the State may consider paying compensation for the losses being incurred since regularisation of such losses, so frequently, are subject to scrutiny by the audit authorities.�
The Major General also maintained, �Moreover, resorting to sterner measures to ward off these elephants at our end may not be desirable.�
He said the Narengi Military Station is the Army�s �logistic hub� for the North East region. There are large numbers of vital assets �which have been created for storage of logistic essentials.� These infrastructure assets are frequented by elephants and they are causing substantial damage not only to infrastructure but also to critical logistic stores.
�The frequency of these attacks have increased in the last six months resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 15 lakh approx, and still counting,� he said and attached a few photographs as evidence of the damages caused by these pachyderms in the military station, for the perusal of the Chief Secretary.
Giving a list of the measures taken by the Army to prevent these pachyderms from entering the Army facilities at Narengi, the Major General said in 2002, a project was undertaken by the Army authorities to install iron barricade to protect critical assets. However, these had to be dismantled in 2019 due to the safety concerns for elephants raised by the Assam Forest Department.
Since the dismantling of the iron barricade, cases of elephant depredation have increased. In addition, there have also been instances wherein unsuspecting soldiers and their families have been attacked by the elephants. It is sheer providence that these individuals have escaped with minor injuries and there has been no loss of life as yet, he said.
Stating that the Army have continued to remain committed towards peaceful co-existence with the wildlife of Guwahati, the Major General apprised the Chief Secretary of the prophylactic measures undertaken by the Army to ward off the elephants. These deterrent measures include � digging of anti-elephant ditches, installation of electronic elephant repellents, placing of recorded sound of bees etc. However, these measures have not been found very effective, the Major General maintained.