Wild jumbos create havoc; residents spend sleepless nights at Borengabari village in Tangla

A Correspondent

TANGLA: The fury of wild jumbos continues unabated in the Indo-Bhutan border villages in Udalguri. The Borengabari village near Ghagra is frequented by wild jumbos every night as a result of which the villagers are spending sleepless nights. What has added to the woes of the villagers is the alleged negligence of the forest authorities, who despite repeated calls for patrolling the village, leave the villagers to their fate.

In yet another incident, the dwelling house of Pratima Kumar, wife of Dibakar Kumar, was vandalized by wild jumbos on Saturday night. “We were in the other room when a herd entered our courtyard and vandalized the room,” said Ritumoni Kumar, a BA 6th semester student of Tangla College. “I have made several calls to the local forest office of Santipur but to no avail and they keep on making lame excuses leaving us to our fate,” she added.

Another villager, Tankeswar Deka said, “The forest office is just 3 km away from our village but they never come to our rescue. The Forest department has miserably failed in protecting our lives and properties.” He also questioned that if such was the situation, what was the use of such a department?

A villager on condition of anonymity stated that if the Forest department did not wake up from its deep slumber, as a measure of self-defence they would take retaliatory action against wild elephants.

“The herd has been creating menace in the area. The wild elephants have descended from the hills in search of food. The elephants damaged houses and destroyed crops of several bighas in the area,’ said Nilotpal Kashyap, a nature lover of the area. The villagers have been spending sleepless nights for the last couple of days in fear of the elephants, he added. The forest department has been negligent and has also not been able to chase away the herd, he lamented.

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