Alipurduar, 13th October: Terror has gripped Dooars as herds of elephants come every night into the villages, destroy crops and damage boundary walls. People somehow manage to drive the elephants toward the forest. But no efforts have been proven enough to stop the terror in the area. Due to this, a tense environment has been created among the workers of the tea gardens.
A similar incident has taken place in Meghnad Saha Nagar of Madarihat in Dooars where a herd of wild elephants entered Meghnad Saha town of Madarihat from Jaldapara forest and trampled paddy crops on several acres of land. Farmers who survive on their cultivated rice throughout the year are staring at a great loss as this year, their year-round food supply has been fiercely destroyed by the elephants.
Locals said that herds of elephants attack the area almost every day at night and destroy the paddy crops that their livelihood is dependent on. They alleged that despite numerous complaints to the forest department about the troubles, no measures are been taken to stop the mishap. They also alleged that forest department personnel come later and only take away the loss account but no compensation has been received to date. They further alleged that even if compensation was received, no efforts have been made to stop the mayhem of the elephants permanently. Now their only concern is how to run their livelihood as they sustain on farming for the whole year.