Forester among 2 killed by elephants in Tamulpur

Guwahati: Two persons, including a forest department staffer, were killed in an attack by wild elephants near the India-Bhutan border in Assam’s Tamulpur district on Tuesday night.The deceased have been identified as Sanju Islary (45), the forester, and Tapan Timsina (27).Baksa DFO Pradip Kumar Bhuyan said the deaths occurred after a group of elephants separated from a larger herd being moved from Nalbari district through Tamulpur towards the Bhutan hills. “The herd of around 18 wild elephants was being pushed from neighbouring Nalbari district through Tamulpur towards the hills bordering Bhutan. It was evening and fog descended. After they were pushed for about 20km from Nalbari, a small group of about 5 elephants got separated and went towards the eastern direction in a village. While forest personnel were bringing the elephants to reunite with the herd, this incident happened,” Bhuyan told TOI on Wednesday.Bhuyan said the group split near Khairani in Tamulpur, prompting concern that the animals could attack villagers. He said the civilian was killed after going to see the elephants, and the forest staff member lost his life while trying to save him. Bhuyan added that the elephants entered a village and faced resistance from villagers.Islary was a resident of Suwagpur village in Tamulpur district. Timsina was from Hatibandha village in Nagaon district and had gone to Tamulpur to visit a relative, forest officials said.The incident has renewed concern over wild elephants moving from hills and forests towards villages along the India-Bhutan border and nearby districts. With paddy harvesting nearly over, elephant herds have been roaming in several districts in search of food, officials said.Anupam Sarmah, team leader of the Brahmaputra landscape at WWF, called for a scientific study to identify the elephant corridors currently being used. “The wild elephants have a tendency to come down from the hills and move towards rivers and grasslands. Whenever they get obstructions, such conflicts arise. Tamulpur and neighbouring districts are worst affected by such conflicts,” he said, calling for a long-term management plan to prevent human-elephant conflict.Earlier this month, the Rajdhani Express ran over eight elephants in Assam’s Hojai district, drawing nationwide attention.