Electrocuted jumbo dies in Assam tea garden

GUWAHATI: An elephant was electrocuted near a tea garden in the Kathiatoli area of Nagaon district, about 140 km from here, on Saturday.


The carcass of the pachyderm was found near Kandoli tea estate. Forest officials said it was an accident and not a case of retaliatory killing. "The elephant died after its trunk touched a livewire near the tea estate. It was not killed by human beings," Nagaon divisional forest officer A Ahmed said. "There has been an increase in the movement of elephants between Karbi Anglong and Nagaon since the past few days. But there has been no untoward incident," he added.

The Burapahar forest range of Kaziranga National Park is in Nagaon district. On the south, it is bordered by the hilly and forested Karbi Anglong district. The man-elephant conflict has been on the rise in Nagaon. But the situation has not yet become as alarming as it is in Sonitpur, Golaghat and Udalguri. In Nagaon, most of the cases of man-animal conflict are reported from the Chapanala and Salna areas.

Shimanta Goswami, president of local NGO Green Guard said, "Elephants from Karbi Anglong come down to Chapanala, Salna and its adjoining areas almost everyday. Though there has been no man-elephant conflict in the recent past, herds of wild jumbos have damaged many houses and crops." He added, "Elephants are increasingly straying into human settlements as they don't find enough food in the forests after scanty rainfall. Though jumbos from Karbi Anglong often come down to Nagaon, the cases of man-elephant conflict has been lesser this time."

Statistics reveal Sonitpur recorded the highest human casualties with eight deaths till May 24 this year, while Dhubri comes second with five, followed by Udalguri (3). Two persons had been killed by wild elephants in the Chirang wildlife division in the same period. On the other hand, the Sivasagar Wildlife Division, Jorhat Wildlife Division, North Lakhimpur Wildlife Division, Dhemaji Wildlife Division and Goalpara Wildlife Division had recorded one human death each till May 24 this year.

India Times