GOALPARA, Dec 20?After three month?s respite from the havoc caused by rampaging elephants, people of some parts of the district are once again compelled to spend sleepless nights anticipating depredation by wild elephants. Wild elephants pose threat to the population of a large part of the constituencies of Goalpara East, Goalpara West and Dudhnoi every year, killing people, damaging crops and vegetables, destroying houses and other belongings. Knowledgeable circles feel that denudation of forest cover in Goalpara district and more particularly in adjoining Meghalaya compels the pachyderms to come down into plains causing substantial damages to standing crops, household property and human lives of the primarily agrarian population of the district.
According to available information, a group of about 30 proboscidians are now active in and around Rangjuli. The most affected villages are Chokakata, Kahiabau, Bhalukjuli, Kankata, Deudhabhita, Saruadal, Bamunpara, Jalapara, Gulianpara, Kainakuchi, Thakuriapara Maishkhuli, Chatabari and nearby villages. These elephants though a few days back came to the human habitation in darkness are now found to extend their period of operation in day hours also. Not scared by the noise, torch, cracker sounds, spears of the villagers, the herd of elephants caused large scale loss to cereal godowns, sugarcane, betelnut trees, vegetables and have destroyed dwelling houses as a result of which some cultivators are now in temporary camps.
One Gautom Rava, trampled by the proboscidian is now at Goalpara Civil Hospital in a serious condition. Pulin Basumatary of Chokakata village was also injured by the herd. People of the affected villages complain that although the officers of the civil administration visited some areas, they did not offer any grant, not to say of concrete steps to drive away the rampaging elephants.