JAMUGURIHAT, Jan 3 � As many as 204 men and 129 elephants were killed in Sonitpur district alone in the last 12 years from 2001 to December 10, 2012. This was due to destruction of habitat and non-availability of food as men have indiscriminately enroached on the habitat of jumbos and deprived them of their natural food owing to alleged negligence of the State Forest department.
According to statistics, Sonitpur is the habitat of 436 elephants, especially of the 233 elephants of Sonai Rupai Reserve Forest and 93 of the Nameri National Park. But the 220-square kilometre Sonai-Rupai RF is under heavy encroachment as a small portion is only left and in Nameri also, there is encroachment. There are eight reserve forests in Sonitpur district bordering Arunachal Pradesh namely, Balipara, Naduar, Amaribari, Goroimari, Chariduar, Sonai-Rupai, Biswanath, Gohpur, Behali along with Nameri National Park. But out of these, except a few portions of Behali and Sonai-Rupai, other reserve forests exist only in name. There is a Divisional Forest Office at Biswanath Chariali, but it is allegedly not at all concerned about the preservation of forests and wild elephants. Even the Forest Minister is allegedly not taking any steps in this regard.
According to information available, in 2001, 25 persons, in 2002, 25, in 2003, 26, in 2004, 14, in 2005, 19, in 2006, 22, in 2007, 9, in 2008, 11, in 2011, 42 and in 2012, 11 persons lost their lives in jumbo attacks. Likewise in 2001, 25 elephants, in 2002, 12, in 2003, 19, in 2004, 11, in 2005, 8, in 2006, 13, in 2007, 13, in 2008, 10, in 2009, 6, in 2010, 7, in 2011, 3 and in 2012, 2 elephants died unnatural deaths.
As regards to the alarming deaths, the Forest department is allegedly in deep slumber as it has failed to take any concrete steps to check the man-elephant conflicts. If this is allowed to continue, people fear that there will be no forests and wild animals left in Sonitpur district.
