HAMREN: Human-animal conflicts have been a major concern in several parts of the state. The recent conflicts have taken place in the West Karbi Anglong District of the state and citizens across multiple villages have been forced to spend sleepless nights because of the same.
The local people mentioned that large herds of wild elephants come out from the forest areas into the inhabited localities and cause destruction to property. Apart from consuming the paddy crops which are now growing in the fields, individual animals often stay away from their herds and cause damage to homes and other property belonging to the rural public.
The local people also mentioned that the elephants have created havoc in several villages and localities of the district. Some of them include Kheroni, Hawaipur, Jirbasa, Watijur and Meska. They also accused the officials of the forest department of not taking appropriate action towards their safety even after they had been notified several times. The rural public, who are largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihood have also expressed fears of massive losses as these wild elephants damage their crops and farms.
Previously, large-scale deforestation and damage to the lush green forest areas were reported from a part of the West Karbi Anglong district of the state of Assam. Cutting of trees on a massive scale has been taking place in the Koka region of the Amreng Forest which comes under the Southern Range of Forest Department, Kheroni. Along with the large-scale deforestation, illegal mining of sand and stone is also being carried out in places which used to be under thick forest foliage, causing further damage to the environment.
According to the local people, the miscreants have been collecting valuable forest resources including high-value timber and other materials from the forest and these activities have intensified in the past two to three months leading to significant damage to the forest. The locals have accused the elected representatives from the Number 7 Kopili and Number 9 Amreng Constituencies of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council of supporting these miscreants in their actions towards the destruction of these forest areas.
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