Assam: Wild elephants create havoc in Baksa, damage crops, houses

Guwahati: A woman from a village in lower Assam’s Baksa district broke down to tears after a wild herd of elephants on Sunday destroyed nearly a bigha of land of her betel nut plantations.

As per some estimates, the women hailing from Baltipara village in Tamulpur locality of the district incurred losses worth lakhs due to the trail of destruction left by the herd of wild jumbos. The betel nut plantation was her only source of income.

Expressing grief over the huge loss, the women sought help from the state government through media persons present at the spot and appealed the district administration to address the rising the man-elephant conflict cases witnessed in the region for the past many weeks.

“This betel nut plantation was the only source of earning I had and that too is destroyed now. How will I meet my expenses for the coming year?” the woman said.

As per sources, a herd of wild elephants had strayed into Joypur and Baltipara villages of Baksa district from the nearby jungles along the Assam-Bhutan border in search of food. Over the past many weeks, these wild elephants have been creating much havoc in the locality destroying houses and paddy fields of residents.

Despite being informed by the locals on several occasions, neither the district administration nor the forest officials have acted upon the incidents or showed keen interest in warding off the wild jumbos from the region, lamented villagers.