Boko, March 1: People have alleged negligence of the state forest department and the veterinary department of Assam which led to a fatal death of an adult elephant. The elephant was suffering from injuries on its right leg and in various parts of the body. It was reported that the elephant was trapped in the Rajapara area under the Bondapara Forest Range in the West Kamrup Forest Division for the past four weeks.
The locals reported the injured elephant to the range officer of the Bondapara Range Office, Rimpi Borah. Arabinda Rabha, A local youth of Bondapara area said, “I condemn the negligence of the Forest Department and the Veterinary Department.”
“Why the powerful state government failed to give proper and better treatment, even after (having) two departments in Assam, who can take proper care for this kind of incidents,” she added.
“Assam government recently reacted about an elephant called ‘Joymala’, after they came to know that the elephant was being tortured in Tamil Nadu state, which was alleged by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and now, why the same government failed to take care of this elephant,” alleged Rabha.
The elephant carcass was seen by local Public in a field near Kukurmara Reserve Forest under Bondapara Forest Range Office on Tuesday evening (28 February, 2023). People from Rajapara, Dekapara, Kukurmara, Sukuniapara, Sonalipara, Kalitapara, Khorapara came to the spot and paid their last tribute with flowers, Assamese traditional ‘Gamosha’, burning incense, frankincense and clay candles.
It is to be mentioned that on February 8, Dr Kushal Knowar Sarma, famous as the “elephant doctor” of Assam who was awarded the Padma Shree in 2020, reached the Rajapara area with the medical and forest team. However, by then the elephant had moved to the jungle and the forest and veterinarian team were unable to locate the elephant.
Later, people of the area alleged that the Forest department did not do anything for the elephant after that day. “We spotted the elephant many times and according to them the elephant was very weak due to the lack of food,” Rabha added.
“We have always worshipped elephants, but at the same time, we regularly suffer from wild elephant attacks,” she said, adding that they tried to feed the elephant near a paddy field, as it did not want to move from there.
“She ate all the food items like sugarcane, vegetables, bananas etc which we gave to her,” stated Rabha.
With regards to the matter, Meghali Rabha, 73 no. Paschim Bekeli Gaon Panchayat President wrote a letter to Indira Kalita, the Director of the Assam State Veterinary Department to take immediate action.
Meghali Rabha said, “One doctor from the veterinary department contacted me and said that when they come to check the elephant, we will inform you.”
“But I think no one came to check the elephant from the department, because after that no one contacted me regarding the matter. But people of the area are requesting me to contact higher officials for treatment,” she said.
Speaking with Indira Kalita, she said that the veterinary department only takes treatment of pets, cattle and other domestic animals.
“But I told Meghali Rabha to inform the forest department,”Kalita said.
People of the area are now irritated and furious at this negligence.
When asked about the matter to Rimpi Borah, the range officer of the Bondapara Range Office, she said that the elephant fell while trying to chase a cow that was grazing nearby and then could not stand up and fell.
“A zoo doctor’s team came later for a postmortem report and they said that many organs of the elephant had already failed before it died,” added Rimpi Borah.
Asking about the negligence, she replied that because of the major injuries doctors refused to treat the elephant by darting. “But we gave her medicines mixed in food but she never ate,” she said.
Later, the state forest officials buried the carcass of the elephant with the help of an excavator near the spot where the elephant died.
