[ Pisi Zauing ]
SONGKING, 20 Dec: Since the last few weeks a herd of wild elephants from the reserve forest strayed out in the open and are still freely roaming around in Songking, Nayang, Ningrang, New Khamlang and Sikao village areas under Namphai – II in Miao circle. The herd has been regularly thronging the paddy fields and villagers have so far incurred heavy losses prompting a closer examination of the measures in place to protect villagers and the elephants.
The wild elephants have come out of the reserve forest in search of food and regularly come to the paddy fields for the rice crops. The farmers regularly risk their lives as they have to drive the elephants away from the fields. “We have already lodged complaint but authorities are yet to act on it,” said N. Mossang of Nayang village.
One senior former panchayat leader Khamcha Kimsing of Songking has urged the concerned authorities, including the administration to take necessary action to prevent such recurring incidents of conflict between humans and elephants. He pointed finger at the forest department and mentioned that they have failed in their duties and that they were unable to chase out the wild elephants despite multiple intimations. “The destruction of our crops is a direct result of the failure of forest department and Namdapha National Park,” Kimsing alleged.
The villagers have demanded proper compensation for the losses they have incurred and appealed to the concerned authorities to take stock of the situation and come up with a solution at the earliest. They also appealed to the authorities to provide compensation to the households whose paddy crops have been destroyed and consumed by the herd.
Man-elephant conflicts in the area have reached a spike in the recent weeks. In the harvest season, herds of elephants come out into the residential areas and cause massive havoc leading to severe loss of property. However, it is still unsure as to when a permanent solution can be achieved to solve the menace.
On the other hand, fingers also point to the settlements in areas under forest cover, depriving the wild animals from their dwelling places. With the shrinkage of their habitat, the animals foray into the adjoining residential areas in search of food, thereby creating havoc which further leads to a conflict situation.