A herd of wild tuskers raided an SPO camp Malakar Tila under Kalyanpur Police Station in Tripura in the wee hours of Tuesday. The jawans of the camp managed to flee unharmed but the elephants damaged the camp. Later, the SPO jawans along with the villagers put up a resistance and drove away the rampaging jumbos.
Incidents of wild elephant attacks have become a regular occurrence in vast areas of Teliamura subdivision, including Krishnapur and Mungiakami, in Tripura’s Khowai district. Whenever such incidents take place, leaders, ministers, and even various levels of administrative officials promise to take initiatives to mitigate elephant attacks in the affected areas. However, the futility of these promises is constantly being questioned in light of the unabated rise in wild elephant attacks in various regions. The attacks have not only damaged houses and properties but civilians also died of attacks in the recent past.
The latest addition to the grim list is the wild elephant attack in the SPO camp in the Kalyanpur area. According to local sources, a herd of 7-8 wild elephants came out of the forest and attacked the SPO camp located at Malakar Tila near Khagendrabal Colony under Kalyanpur Police Station late last night. The 5-6 SPO jawans present at the camp somehow managed to save their lives by hiding in the darkness. The elephant herd retreated after the local residents put up a united resistance – however, not before damaging the camp.
In the wake of this incident, the residents, once again, expressed their frustration over the administration’s inaction despite the prolonged occurrence of elephant attacks.
“The man-animal conflict in this area is continuing for a long time. Several initiatives by the local administration and the forest department were initiated. However, the jumbo attacks remain unabated”, said a veteran villager.
According to Forest Department sources, rampant deforestation and lack of food in elephants’ habitats are the prime reasons forcing the elephants to venture into villages.
The villagers pleaded with the administration to take strong measures to protect the common people of the affected areas from wild elephant attacks.
(Tripura, Tripura news)
