GOLAGHAT, March 25 � People of more than 100 villages of Doigurung, Morongi, Letekujan, Numaligarh, Bihora, Telgaram, Rongajan and Lakhaujan have been spending sleepless nights due to depredations by wild elephants since December last year.
A herd of more than 80 elephants have damaged dwelling houses and destroyed standing crops. Recently, the elephants damaged more than seven granaries.
Several persons were injured. Two persons were killed by the tuskers. The elephants destroyed several labour quarters of Boghidhola and Rangajan tea gardens. The elephants come out from Bijuli forest reserve of Nambor forest reserve and Deopahar reserve forest at night and destroyed dwelling houses.
The affected people have demanded the Forest Department to drive out the elephants, but department concerned has failed to drive out the patchyderms.
The scale of depredation by the wild elephants was narrated by the aggrieved people to this correspondent when he visited them at the spot recently. According to the affected people, the reason for the man-elephant conflict was due to the plying of hundreds of trucks on NH-37. These trucks ply with loaded chips from the stone quarries of Numaligarh Doigurung and Letekujan in Karbi Anglong district where the elephants used to roam about freely in search of food and shelter.
Thousands of labourers were being engaged daily for blasting operations. The Indian Railways having taken permission from the Forest Department of Golaghat have been carrying stones and chips for the construction of the Bogibeel bridge. Stones were being carried to the Bogibeel area. As a result the environment of the area has been polluted and damaged beyond repair.
Moreover, the proposed Elephant Project has been stopped. The Elephant Project was started at Intanki in Karbi Anglong in 1992. This place is quite suitable for elephant habitation.
This area comprises of 3,270 sq km and was reserved for elephant project in 2003. It was announced on April 17, 2003, as elephant project. This place is the corridor for the elephants of Karbi Anglong, Kaziranga, and Nambor. During the period between 2003 to 2004, there was no such conflict between elephants and humans.
But recently, due to the negligent attitude of the Golaghat forest Department, the Bihora stone quarry was dug out and 2.5 km from Mikirsang to Bormohori area were blasted. As result the elephant corridor was disturbed.
Besides, the elephant had to face threat of continuing noise pollution. The elephant were greatly disturbed by blasting in the stone quarry. This created scarcity of food for the elephants and they lost their shelter too. Thus the elephants had to make way to the nearest villages for food and shelter.
The enraged elephants destroyed crops, damaged dwelling houses and attacked villagers. This conflict has been continuing. The local people of the villages within Golaghat district had to embrace death due to occasional attack by the elephants.
The conflicts and counter conflicts have been increasing. A local member of an NGO told this scribe that altogether 85 innocent people lost their lives and 75 elephants were killed by the people.
Meanwhile, nature lover NGOs of Golaghat, namely� Society for Environment Education, North-East, Bonojyotshna, North East Amity Trust (NEAT) and nature lovers like Arup Goswami, Dr P Gogoi and Dr AN Dutta have appealed to the Forest Department and the State and central governments to take viable steps to preserve the flora and fauna of the entire forest areas.