Siliguri: Elephant enters residential area, causes extensive damage to crops

Residents, gripped by fear, refrained from venturing out of their homes as the marauding elephants wreaked havoc, causing extensive damage to agricultural fields, trees, and crops.

The incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by communities coexisting with wildlife in the region.

In response to the situation, the Forest Department has initiated to divert route of the wild animal back to the forest.

According to the forest officials, the elephant has deviated from its herd and entered residential areas.

Forest Officer Ganesh Sharma said, " We got information that an elephant left its herd and came here...our teams have arrived, more teams will come...we are trying to divert the animal back to the forest".

As farmers grapple with safeguarding their crops, local authorities said that they are making efforts to mitigate the impact of the elephant menace on both agriculture and community safety.

In view of tackling the wildlife threat, on November 12, the Supreme Court sought a response from the West Bengal government on a contempt petition alleging the continued use of sharp spikes and burning marshals (fire torches) to drive away elephants in the state.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued notice to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal.

The petitioner contended that the West Bengal government has failed to effectively address human-elephant conflicts and has violated Supreme Court orders dated August 1 and December 4, 2018. In these orders, the court had directed the state to remove spikes and desist from using fireballs to manage elephants.

Prerna Singh Bindra, counsel for the petitioner, cited incidents involving the use of spikes and burning torches to drive away elephants in West Bengal.

She added that despite assurances given to the court to stop such practices, the state has not explored alternative methods for managing human-elephant conflicts. (ANI)