Sonitpur district admin restricts public movement amidst elephant menace
The situation is such that vehicles frequently get stranded on NH-15 in the Depota area due to the movement of elephants.
During this harvesting season, hundreds of farmers are facing huge losses as the wild elephants are severely damaging the standing ripe crops.
The situation is such that vehicles frequently get stranded on NH-15 in the Depota area due to the movement of elephants. During this harvesting season, hundreds of farmers are facing huge losses as the wild elephants are severely damaging the standing ripe crops spread over hectares of land on the bank of the Brahmaputra.
A section of the affected farmers informed The Assam Tribune that during the rabi crop season they cultivate multiple crops apart from paddy, including potatoes and green vegetables, on the fertile land on the bank of the river Brahmaputra. Besides paddy, bighas of agricultural land have already become laden with leafy green vegetables. However, newly prepared seedbeds of potatoes as well as standing crops have been damaged on a large scale due to the roaming of wild elephants in the area.
The problem is getting aggravated day by day due to the obstruction of the elephant corridor in the Depota area due to the illegal construction of certain business establishments.
Naturalists have alleged that as a result of an alleged nexus between some unscrupulous forest officials, land mafias, and some so-called environmentalists in the Depota area, plots of land reserved for the elephant corridor have been sold to certain industrialists after their category was changed overnight by a section of unscrupulous officials of the local circle office. This corridor was earlier used by the wild elephants to cross over to Arimora Chapori, a major elephant grazing and habitat area. The aggrieved villagers have also alleged that their woes are getting compounded due to the forest department's failure to deal with the issue properly.
Meanwhile, the district administration has issued an order prohibiting unnecessary movement and activities of the public in the Arimora Chapori area of Bihaguri under the Tezpur revenue circle. This order has been promulgated under Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023, and is aimed at ensuring the safety of human lives and property while preventing any retaliatory action or law-and-order issues arising from the presence of the wild elephants' herd in the region. When contacted, district commissioner Ankur Bharali revealed that the order prohibits the entry and movement of any person in the affected area of Arimora, Chapori, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 am, along with a ban on making loud noises or engaging in any activity that disturbs public peace or obstructs officials of the forest department and law-enforcing agencies during operations to control the herd of wild elephants.
The order will remain in force until further notice. Police, security personnel, officials of the environment and forest department, and other law-enforcing agencies on duty have been exempted from this prohibition. Individuals violating the order will be liable for punishment under Section 223 of the BNS, 2023.
The district administration has asked the local residents to cooperate and adhere to the restrictions.
By-
Shambhu Boro
