Man-elephant conflict escalates in Golaghat

A Correspondent

Numaligarh: Over the last many years, wild elephants have been creating havoc in most parts of Golaghat and areas of Numaligarh-Morangi are witnessing severe human-elephant conflict.

Due to shortage of food, habitat shortage and other problems, wild elephant herds frequently enter populated areas. In recent events, multiple herds of wild elephants have been in the areas of Thuramukh near Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary, roaming around in the villages mostly at night in search of food. Other areas like No.4 Rangbong, Murphulani and Bogijan are also places where elephants are creating panic among the villagers. During the crop seasons from October to January, herds of wild elephants raid the paddy fields every year which is a seasonal problem. Now the farmers are just preparing to plant their seedlings and already herds of wild elephants have started entering their villages. This has become a matter of grave concern.

According to a local wildlife activist, the primary reason behind the increase in man-elephant conflict is the decline of forest cover in the areas of Nambor-Doigrung reserved forest. Human interference in the guise of development has destroyed and fragmented wildlife habitats and blocked migration routes. Most of the elephant corridors are blocked due to stone-crusher plants which have been set up in most parts of Golaghat-Karbi Anglong bordering hilly areas. A rise in the encroachment of forest areas has caused habitat loss, forcing the jumbos to come down to the plains in search of food and water, which has caused human deaths including the destruction of houses and crops.

As per the 2017 census of elephants, India is home to 27,312 elephants accounting for 55 per cent of the total world elephant population. Since 1986, Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus), the variety found in India, have been listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Among all the States, Assam has the second highest number of elephants, after Karnataka. The elephant population in Assam has increased from 5,246 in 2002 to 5,719 in 2017, but now faces serious challenge due to dwindling forest areas.

According to official data, 754.89 hectares of cropland have been damaged in 2018-19, the number was 260.53 hectares in 2017-18. The tuskers too are at the receiving end. The number of elephant deaths has also increased from 25 in 2010 to 46 in 2017 and 27 in 2018. Around 2,034 houses were also damaged by wild elephants in 2018-2019.

At present two herds of jumbos are taking shelter at Thuramukh and another herd is dwelling near the No.4 Rangbong area. Wildlife activists have called the State Government to declare the man-elephant conflict a disaster, as done by Uttar Pradesh government, and work out a multi-agency strategy to reduce the problem of human-elephant conflict.

Also read: Man-elephant conflict on the rise in Udalguri, wild jumbo electrocuted