Doomdooma: Hundreds of residents, including families affected by repeated wild elephant attacks, staged a protest outside the Doomdooma Forest Division office in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Monday, accusing the Forest Department of failing to address the escalating human-elephant conflict in Philobari’s Amguri area.
The protesters alleged that herds of wild elephants have been entering Amguri and neighbouring villages almost every night, damaging tea plantations, areca nut trees, banana groves and standing crops, resulting in substantial losses for farming families.
“We repeatedly informed the Forest Department about the elephant menace, but no permanent or effective measures have been taken. Every night has become a nightmare as we stay awake to protect our homes, farms and families,” a protester said.
Residents alleged that the repeated elephant incursions have severely affected livelihoods and that delays in providing relief and compensation have added to their hardship.
They demanded immediate measures to prevent elephant incursions, adequate compensation for affected families and a long-term strategy to safeguard people and property.
“Even after suffering repeated losses, we have received neither immediate assistance nor compensation. If our demands are ignored, we will be left with no option but to intensify our democratic agitation,” another protester said.
According to residents, the recurring conflict has forced many families to remain awake through the night to protect their homes and agricultural land from elephant raids.
Experts attribute the increasing human-elephant conflict in the region to rapid urbanisation, shrinking forests due to illegal timber felling and the expansion of agriculture along forest fringes. They say these factors have fragmented elephant habitats and reduced the availability of natural food sources, pushing the animals into human settlements in search of food.
Conservationists have argued that unless habitat degradation is addressed, forest corridors are restored, illegal logging is curbed and conflict mitigation measures are strengthened, confrontations between humans and elephants are likely to continue.