GUWAHATI, Aug 21 � Areas bordering Bhutan in Udalguri district continue to be at the centre of a raging man-elephant conflict, with mounting fatalities for both. A disturbing aspect of the conflict has been the spurt in elephant deaths due to electrocution.
Instead of proper power fence, many people, particularly tea estates, have been found to be using the domestic power line directly to feed the electric fence which is illegal and proving to be fatal to the elephants.
During 2009, six elephants got killed by such illegal power fences on the fringe of Barnadi wildlife sanctuary and Khalingduar reserve forest. Fourteen people also died in elephant attacks during the year.
Wildlife experts attribute this vicious cycle � marauding herds of elephants in search of food inflicting heavy damage on crops and retaliatory killing through poisoning and electrocution by villagers dependent on agriculture for their sustenance � to rampant deforestation and destruction of elephant corridors in the region.
�The man-elephant conflict in Udalguri has intensified in the last couple of years. The Neoli hill proposed reserve forest is a known elephant corridor for east-west movement of elephants. It also serves as a buffer area for the forest of neighbouring Bhutan. Tremendous anthropogenic pressure has greatly degraded this particular forest patch,� Anupam Sarmah of WWF India who recently conducted a study of the conflict under the North Lank Landscape Conservation Programme together with Hiten Kumar Baishya, told The Assam Tribune.
Sarma said that illegal and unplanned developmental activities and construction of SSB camps on the elephant corridor were also obstructing the free movement of elephants.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dhansiri Division, Bankim Sarma said that police cases had been registered in connection with all the elephant electrocution cases and the matter was also being taken up with the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB).
�Power theft is rampant here and many people, especially the small tea growers, have been found to be connecting live wires to their fences. We have taken up the matter with both police and the ASEB. We are also having periodical meetings with tea estate managements after some were found to be using sharp-edged fences that can cause serious injury to the elephants,� he said.
Conservationists feel that with necessary interventions in place, it is still possible to bring down the conflict to a level where both humans and elephants can live in peace.
�The conflict is unquestionably a major threat to the long-term survival of the Asian elephant but it can be minimized to a level where both the human and elephant can live in harmony for a longer period. Reclamation of some lost habitats and critical corridors along with a proper conflict mitigation strategy with participation of the fringe villagers will be extremely helpful in minimizing the level of the conflict and ensuring a secure future of the pachyderms,� Sarmah said.
Notwithstanding the gravity of the developments, Forest officials assert that the situation has been under control so far this year. Bankim Sarma said that with some much-needed logistics such as patrolling vehicles, trained kunki elephants, search lights, etc., now at their disposal, monitoring and controlling the movement of wild herds was easier than before.
The Forest official said that awareness drives with help of NGOs were on to educate the villagers and the tea garden community on elephant behaviour.
�Elephants are invariably attracted by the country liquor made by the garden workers, and once they taste it they would always visit the place. We are having regular meetings with the people to enhance their awareness so that they do not confront the elephants aggressively whenever they see one,� he said.
Sarma said that compared to last year, elephant depredations and fatalities on either side have been much less this year. �We feel that some of the strategies are working but will have to watch out for the rest of the year. The winter is going to be more testing as the elephants will come down to raid paddy fields,� he added.
