Elephant corridor signboard demolished in Depota; Land mafia suspected
Wildlife groups allege land mafia behind act; urge authorities to restore corridor and act against violators
An image of the demolished signboard at the elephant corridor.
Tezpur, Sept 29: Nature and wildlife organisations here have expressed grave concern over the demolition of a concrete elephant corridor signboard by miscreants in the Depota area, allegedly under the influence of some land mafia and unscrupulous businessmen.
The Depota area, which abuts the NH-15, has been notified as a wild elephant corridor to help elephants’ herds that come down from the Nameri National Park and the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary to reach the Arimora Chapori, thereby easing the pachyderms’ conflict with the villagers and farmers of the area.
Around a decade back, two forest officials – P Shiv Kumar and Ranjit Konwar – had notified the area as an elephant corridor and erected two concrete signboards at two different sites to specifically identify the corridor area and facilitate the movement of wild elephants’ herds.
Unfortunately, some unidentified miscreants recently demolished one of the signboards, allegedly to facilitate sale of land in the area to non-local businessmen. Upon receiving this information, some forest department officials visited the area, took stock of the matter, and assured the locals and Nature lovers that they will rebuild the signboard in the area and protect the corridor from the grasp of land sharks.
It ought to be mentioned in this context that over the past few years, a section of unscrupulous businessmen and land mafia, in nexus with some officials of the Tezpur revenue circle, have been trying to sell land in the area for establishment of industries and that has affected the wild elephant herds’ normal movement in the area during the winter/crop harvesting season.
It is also pertinent to mention that a huge area has already been occupied by some factory owners by violating the forest department’s regulations regarding elephant corridors.
Meanwhile, Nature and wildlife organisations, including Hati Bondhu, have vehemently condemned the demolition of the concrete signboard and urged upon the district administration to inquire into incident and book the culprits.