Krishnapur residents in Tripura block road for 7 hours demanding action against persistent wild elephant havoc. Despite repeated pleas, authorities fail to provide a solution, prompting renewed protests in Teliamura.
Teliamura (Tripura) Jun 23: Frustration boiled over at Krishnapur in the Khowai District of Tripura on Monday as residents, plagued by relentless wild elephant incursions, staged a seven-hour road blockade on the busy North Krishnapur-Teliamura road.
The protest was held in the Puran Bazar area under the 29 Krishnapur Assembly constituency.
Participation of local people in numbers highlighted deep-seated anger over the perceived inaction of forest and administrative authorities in addressing the escalating wild jumbo menace.
For months, wild elephants have wreaked havoc across Krishnapur, Mungiakami, and neighboring villages, transforming nights into a terrifying ordeal.
Locals report near-daily attacks, leaving them sleepless and living in constant fear for their lives and property.
Despite repeated pleas to the administration, the forest department, and even local MLA and Minister Bikash Debbarma, effective measures to deter the jumbos have remained elusive.
This latest demonstration is not an isolated incident. Villagers have repeatedly resorted to road blockades on multiple occasions, each time lifting their protest based on assurances from authorities that a permanent solution was forthcoming.
However, these promises have consistently failed to materialize, pushing the community to its breaking point once again.
Upon receiving news of Monday’s blockade, a large contingent of police force from Teliamura police station, alongside a DCM from the Teliamura Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office, rushed to the scene.
Yet, the resolute residents stood firm, refusing to disperse without a written guarantee of action. The tense standoff continued for seven arduous hours.
The impasse finally broke after Gaurav Rabindra Wagh, an official from the Teliamura Sub-Divisional Forest Department, arrived and provided assurances that necessary steps would be taken to address the long-standing elephant problem.
Following his commitment, the blockade was eventually lifted, but the community remains cautiously optimistic, hoping this time their cries for help will be met with concrete and lasting solutions.
Notably, man-elephant conflicts in the villages under Teliamura sub-division is a long-standing issue. Several villegers were killed, crops and property lost in unabated elephant attacks.
The forest department and administration came up with several ideas to reduce the elephant attacks. However, as is evident in latest elephant rampage in Keishnapur village on Sunday early hours, most of the steps have failed to deliver expected outcome and ensure safety of the villagers.
On condition of anonymity, a forest department personnel said, there is food scarcity for elephants in the hill area, mainly due to rampant de-forestation. Moreover, natural habitat of the elephants is also shrinking forcing them to stroll into villages in search of food.
