GUWAHATI: An elephant herd wreaked havoc in the Teleni hamlet of Gohpur in Assam's Biswanath district on the night of Friday, August 25, 2023. The herd damaged the boundary walls, office, and classrooms of the Teleni Primary School, and also plundered about nine sacks of rice and other food supplies. There were no reports of injuries, but the incident has highlighted the growing human-elephant conflict in the region.
The increase in human activity in elephant habitats has led to more elephants straying into human settlements in search of food and water. This has resulted in a number of conflicts, including crop damage, injuries, and even deaths.
In the Teleni case, the forest department has been unable to prevent the elephants from entering the village. This has caused widespread fear and anxiety among the villagers, who are now living in a state of perpetual danger.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that the sixth expansion of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is located in the vicinity of the Teleni hamlet. This has led to some speculation that the elephants may have been displaced from the park and are now looking for food and shelter in the surrounding areas.
The buffer area around Kaziranga National Park is designed to promote coexistence between wildlife and human activity. However, the recent influx of elephants into Teleni suggests that the buffer zone is not being managed effectively. This is a serious concern, as it could lead to further conflict between humans and elephants in the future.
The government and the forest department need to take urgent steps to address the human-elephant conflict in Assam. This includes providing compensation to the victims of elephant attacks, improving the management of buffer zones, and educating the local population about how to live in harmony with elephants.
In addition, it is important to find ways to reduce human-elephant conflict in the long term. This could involve measures such as creating more elephant corridors, providing alternative food sources for elephants, and reducing human encroachment into elephant habitats.
The human-elephant conflict is a complex issue, but it is one that must be addressed if we are to protect both elephants and humans. The government and the forest department need to take the lead in finding solutions to this problem.
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