Villagers live in fear at night as man-elephant conflict intensifies

Villagers in states with sizeable elephant population are living in fear due to increased attacks by tuskers, forcing locals to conduct night patrols to scare the animals away.

Elephants kill one person a day in India. Between April 2014 and May this year, 1,144 people lost their lives in attacks by elephants, a grim reminder of the increasing man-animal conflict.

As a precautionary measure, forest departments in several states have advised villagers to remain indoors after sunset as elephants often move in large herds during winter months, trampling crops and attacking villages that fall on their way.

GUWAHATI/BHUBANESWAR/RANCHI/ KOLKATA:

ASSAM

Bolai Munda, 65, became the latest victim of the conflict in Udalguri district on Sunday.

According to the forest department, 48 people have been killed by elephants, while 70 tuskers have lost their lives in the first 11 months of 2017 in Assam — a state that has witnessed a decrease in forest cover by 3,000 sq kms in the past 28 years. “We spend our nights awake, trying to chase away elephants from our fields using torches, drums and spears,” said Bhupen Bora, a resident of Samaguri in Nagaon.

Bibhab Talukdar, CEO of Aaranyak — a Guwahati-based wildlife NGO — blamed decrease of forests, construction near elephant habitats and desperation by villagers to save their lives as the reason for rising conflict.

JHARKHAND

Curfew-like situation prevails in Gumla’s Nawdiha village, where a deserted elephant has returned. The forest department has asked villagers not to venture out in the evening. It has also advised them to avoid sleeping in rooms where foodgrains are stored. “These are precautionary measures,” Gumla divisional forest officer Ajit Kumar Singh said. Rajendra Between April 2014 and May 2017, 1,144 people were killed by elephants.

Humans killed by elephants between 2006-2017 Decrease in forest cover in state between 1987 and 2015 Oraon, a Nawdiha villager, said officials had asked them to ensure a fire is burning outside houses and keep a torchlight ready. In other assaults, two elephants went on a rampage in Thethaitangar block on Wednesday.

ODISHA

In around 60-odd villages of Nilagiri, people do not venture out as an elephant herd from Dalma sanctuary in Jharkhand has invoked terror in the area.

“If you need to pick something

Humans have been killed and 288 injured in confrontations with elephants up from a local shop, pick it up in the daytime,” said Ratikanta Mallick, who reminds his family to lock the main gate and not venture out. While the likes of Mallick keep themselves locked, others like Satyanarayan Singh of a nearby village climb up makeshift perches on trees. Forest department officials said many people had migrated to safer places. Authorities often use LED lights with sirens to scare away elephants from human settlements in areas of Sundargarh, Jharkhand Assam West

Bengal Odisha Mayurbhanj, Angul, Gajapati, Ganjam and Khurda districts.

WEST BENGAL Forty-two-year old Shitala Mandi near Jhargram town recollected moments from the frightful night when a rogue elephant trampled her husband, Sambhu, five years ago. This year, too, elephants have targeted several villages in the hinterland. In the last five years, around 50 villagers have died in elephant attacks in south Bengal districts.