Guwahati: In a tragic incident, an 11-year old year child was killed and a one and half-year-old child was seriously injured after a wild elephant stamped on them while they were sleeping. The unfortunate incident took place near the Amchang tea garden area in Satgaon on the outskirts of Guwahati.
According to locals of the area, the family's house was destroyed by wild elephants and they were forced to sleep out in the open. Jiten Karuwa, the father of the two children works in the Amchang tea garden and they live in a thatched accommodation nearby.
Narrating the incident, one of the locals said that the incident took place at around 12:30 AM while the family was asleep. "Their house has been destroyed and now one of their children is dead and the younger one is battling for life. They were sleeping when a wild elephant stamped on the children. The elder child died."
This is among the several instances of man-elephant conflict that has been going on in Assam. So far, there have been a number of instances when elephants entering homes and destroying paddy and houses, and other property.
In December 2020, a herd of wild elephants entered the Bihali area of Biswanath Chariali in the night causing disturbance among the people. The herd of the elephant strayed out of Kaziranga National Park (KNP), the sixth edition which was made under the Northern Range, Biswanath in search of food and was roaming around the Bihali area of the district. The local people of the area informed the forest department officials about the elephant coming to the township area.
In July 2020, a herd of elephants destroyed several houses in Jagun Namphai in Tinsukia district near Assam-Arunachal border-covered area under Jagun Police Station in the evening. The cases of conflict between humans and wild elephants are increasing in the Jagun area where the jumbos create havoc destroying houses and leaving the people homeless. According to a source, the elephants had come from the Namphai reserve forest and have destroyed the crop fields and households of many poor farmers who are now in a state of trauma. It is assumed that due to lack of food (fruits and herbs) in the forest these wild elephants are forced to enter human-occupied areas.
Earlier in 2018, a herd of wild elephants which was also strayed out of Kaziranga National Park, sixth addition destroyed several houses and crops at Gohpur in Biswanath district and Chariduar near Assam Arunachal Border in Sonitpur district.
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