TURA: The new year began with a wild elephant attack in the Garo Hills in which a man was trampled and crushed to death by a pachyderm in the North Garo Hills district, this week.
Fifty-seven year old Julindro Marak of Salpara Bakenang village, under Mendipather police station jurisdiction, was out in an open field on the night of January 2nd when he was chased by a wild elephant which had entered the area in search of food.
The wild beast attacked him and left his body on the side of a field which was spotted by villagers around 7:30 in the night. His body was later handed to the family after conduct of post mortem.
Elephants frequent paddy fields in search of food during the cold winter months when there is not much to forage in the forests. There have been frequent attacks o humans in the past and most incidents take place during the winter nights.
Herds of wild elephants from the Goalpara plains frequent the nearby paddy growing region of Garo Hills often leading to conflict between man and beast. Only recently, therre have been reports of wild herds of elephants moving through the Kardang area, between Mendipather-Resubelpara and Krishnai.
Another area vulnerable to elephant attacks have been the border region of Garo Hills with neighbouring Bangladesh. Herds of the pachyderms cross over from either Bangladesh or the forests inside South Garo Hills entering human dwellings. The problem is most felt in the Purakhasia-Gopinathkilla and Mahendraganj region where the herds regularly visit during the harvest season.
Two months ago, a farmer from Chapahati village of Mahendraganj who went to keep guard of his paddy in the field at night was killed in an elephant attack.
Wildlife authorities have cautioned farmers against confronting the beasts and instead to inform authorities so that necessary action can be taken by its teams to chase the animals away.
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