Forest guards escort kids to school as tigers prowl Assam tea garden

GUWAHATI: With tigers on the prowl in the vicinity of Kaliabor tea estate in Assam's Nagaon, armed forest guards had to take on the role of student escorts at a govt school this week.

Nam Kamakhya Lower Primary School has seen nearly 70% decline in attendance, with parents keeping their children at home due to regular big cat sightings near the school over the past two months.

To facilitate the state education department's mandatory Gunotsav evaluation programme on Monday and Tuesday, forest department staff were assigned to protect children coming to and going back from school. This assessment period is crucial.

The school's proximity to Kaliabor tea estate has been problematic, with a couple of tiger-related tragedies in recent months. Students must traverse the tea estate, now frequented by tigers, with no alternative route available. A tea garden worker lost his life last month, with only the head being recovered. In Nov, another villager had vanished.

Officials could not confirm if the same tiger was involved in both cases. Forest officials have reported two Royal Bengal tigers entering from nearby Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, while residents suggest there are four to five.