From Our Correspondent
AGARTALA: The degrading forest cover might be one of the major causes of the growing incidents of human-elephants conflicts, particularly in the foothill of Atharamura area in Tripura.
Although the forest department does not have any figures regarding the causality in man-elephant conflicts in the state, thousands of villagers in the area are virtually forced to spend sleepless nights due rampage by the wild elephants.
A recent report released by Forest Survey of India (FSI), the northeastern state of Tripura had lost about 89 kms of its forest during the last one year despite the existence of Joint Forest Managements (JFMs) in the state.
Small hamlets like Banbazar Singicherra, Tulashikar and Mungiakami are identified as the worst affected ones.
Loss of forest cover led to dearth of foods for jumbos in the forest and the herds of elephants often stray outside the Atharamura Hill range in search of food.
In the process human habitations and crops are being destroyed almost regularly.
Poor villagers have nothing but the age-old indigenous techniques—beating of drums and bursting of fire crackers—to stop the marauding jumbos.
The indigenous techniques, however, often fall short of expectations and the elephant rampage continues in the areas.
Experts have also blamed it to the decreasing forest cover for the growing man-elephant conflict and said that it is quite natural for the elephants to stray outside in search of foods.
They also lamented the fact that all the efforts of saving forests have fallen in deaf ears over the years.
“Dearth of foods in the forests have led the jumbos to stray outside the forest areas and in the process human habitations and property is destroyed,” said a Forest official.
He said that the state has 59 wild elephants as per the latest census and most of the elephant population is concentrated in Atharamura foothill and around the Gandhari-Maharani in the newly formed Gomati district of the state.
There are reports of human-animal conflict in various other hamlets in the state too including Khowai, Tulashikar and Mungiakami areas, he said and added that the forest department have taken up measures so that wild elephants could be confined to designated areas and to save the paddy fields.
“Erection of barbed wire fencing and digging of canals are among the major initiative take up by forest department to address the problem.
“Although these steps have paid dividends yet problem persists in some pockets like in Atharamura area,” he said adding that the problem will not be solved unless adequate food is arranged for wild elephants in traditional forest areas.
Besides, the department is also mulling to create conservation range in two traditional pockets where elephants are spotted. Public consultation which had already started for setting up conservation range, has received mixed response.
Officials hope to establish conservation range by convincing local people about the necessity of having such arrangements.
Not only elephants, monkeys are also wrecking havoc in different areas of Telimura subdivision.
The issue of monkey menace became so serious that it was even raised at the recent budget session of the state assembly.
MLA Gouri Das raised the issue and wanted to know from the government as to what steps are being taken to solve the problem.
The state Forest minister Jitendra Chowdhury only blamed the people for creating such situation in which monkeys are bound to attack citizens even in the Teliamura Nagar Panchayat areas.