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Elephants go on the rampage in West Bengal tea estate |
A herd of elephants from the jungles of Baikunthapur
strayed into a tea estate in West Bengal 's Jalpaiguri district and destroyed
shrubs at the tea gardens. The herd entered the Dumdim Tea Estate located in Dooars
region from the nearby forest during the night. On losing their way in the gardens,
the elephants could not move out before dawn. With the break of dawn, the workers
came out and found the animals stranded in the middle of the garden area. Gradually
as the news spread, a huge crowd gathered among whom many were armed with stones
chips and other handy things to drive away the herd so as to avoid any further
destruction. "These elephants come regularly and disturb us a lot," said Ratan
Karki , a worker. When their endeavours failed to give any positive results, residents
had to summon the forest officials from the Targhera Range of the Baikunthapur
Wildlife-II Sanctuary. The forest officials came in and tried to drive away the
animals from the tea garden to the forest habitat. The officials fired blank shots
to frighten the pachyderms but their efforts too went in vain. "We have come here
to drive these animals back to the forests, but residents are not supporting us.
There is a problem of law and order and so we have informed the police," said
Dulal Chandra Das , Targhera Range Forest Officer, Baikunthapur Wildlife-II Sanctuary.
Later, the herd on its own moved towards the forest region, bringing much relief
to the forest rangers and the residents as well. Experts have repeatedly opined
that massive deforestation, poaching and people encroaching upon forest corridors
have forced the elephants to move out of their natural habitats in search of food
and water. India has over 50 per cent of Asiatic elephants, considered to be among
the most intelligent animals but its population has dwindled over the recent years. |
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