In a heart-wrenching incident, a young man lost his life after being trampled by a wild elephant in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Friday. The unfortunate event unfolded at Kherjan Haldibari, located under Digboi police station in eastern Assam.
Victim Identified
The victim, identified as Pabitra Phukan, met a tragic end near his residence when a wild elephant unexpectedly appeared and launched a fatal attack on him.
Upon receiving information about the incident, officials from the forest department swiftly arrived at the scene to assess the situation. The lifeless body of the victim was subsequently sent for postmortem examination.
Escalating Man-Elephant Conflict
The incident sheds light on the escalating conflict between humans and elephants in Assam, attributed to the diminishing forest covers. The encroachment into natural habitats forces elephants to venture into human settlements in search of food.
Devojit Moran, an environmentalist, expressed concern over the surge in man-elephant conflicts and criticized the government’s response. He emphasized that the elephants’ movement is hindered due to blocked corridors resulting from encroachments.
“The elephants come out from the upper Dehing block because most of the elephant corridors were blocked due to encroachment, and as a result, the elephants faced problems of free movement, resulting in conflict. This was not the first incident; many incidents had happened earlier. The government should develop a proper mechanism to deal with the issue,” Moran asserted.
As such incidents continue to unfold, there is a pressing need for effective strategies to mitigate the conflicts and ensure the safety of both humans and wildlife.