Guwahati: Three people, including a former cadre of the now-defunct Bodo Liberation Tigers, were trampled to death by wild elephants in Assam’s Tamulpur district in the past two days.The deaths in Kumarikata, along the Indo-Bhutan border, have taken the toll in human-elephant conflict in the area to 27 in the past two years, including 10 this year, forest officials said.The victims were attacked while heading to their paddy fields after a herd of about 130 elephants entered nearby villages from the Kumarikata forest range in search of food, mainly paddy and bananas.Bowa Lohar (55) and Budhua Paik (50) were killed in separate attacks in Hatiduba and Menuka Tea Estate in NC Angarkata village on Wednesday. Haunar Basumatary, a middle-aged man, was killed in Tamulpur on Tuesday.Basumatary was a former cadre of the BLT, a militant outfit founded in 1996 with a demand for separate autonomy for Bodoland. The group laid down its arms after signing a Memorandum of Settlement with the Centre and the state govt in 2003.Kumarikata forest range officer Prabhat Barman told TOI, “The human-elephant conflict in Tamulpur has increased rapidly since around 2020. Until then, no such conflict was reported.”He said the elephants enter the villages from Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhutanese forests in search of food.“The elephants travel from Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary to the villages, crossing the seasonal Lokhaitora river, also known as the Bornadi river. The elephants begin entering the villages in July-Aug every year during the peak time of the cultivation season and remain till around Jan, when the harvesting is completed,” he added.Paddy harvesting has begun in Tamulpur. Barman said the elephants have already destroyed about 1,000 bighas of paddy fields, besides damaging houses and killing people.“Forest personnel, along with a few NGOs, have been continuously working to drive away the elephants, but it is a difficult task to completely drive away the elephants, as besides the main herd of about 130 elephants, there are small herds of four to five or 10-15 elephants also roaming around in different villages. Four to five elephants separated from the herd have also taken shelter in a few villages,” he added.The district administration has issued an advisory urging residents of 13 villages to remain alert and not chase or disturb the elephants.The villages are No. 1 Paharpur, Bhalukjhar, Hatiduba, Shantipur, Chechapani, Natun Bazar, Ananda Bazar, No. 2 Darrangapar, No. 1 Darrangapar, Menoka, Bogajuli, Khairani and Guwabari.Residents have been asked to maintain a safe distance from the elephants and avoid loud noises, firecrackers and unnecessary interference with the herds. They have also been warned against shooting poisoned arrows at elephants or using poison to drive them away, as “such acts may provoke aggressive behaviour and endanger human lives.”
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