Guwahati: The death of Durga, a pregnant wild Asian elephant in Assam’s Golaghat district, has triggered serious questions over alleged official apathy and the failure of authorities to provide timely medical intervention despite repeated warnings about her deteriorating health.
Durga, who had been suffering from multiple ailments and was also fitted with a malfunctioning radio collar weighing around 20 kg, died at Doigrung in Numaligarh on August 17.
A post-mortem examination conducted by government veterinarians found a nearly fully developed calf in her womb.
Wildlife conservation groups and local residents have demanded a high-level inquiry to determine whether timely intervention could have saved Durga and her unborn calf.
According to Elephant Monitors Assam, its members and volunteers had been campaigning since March to have Durga’s radio collar removed and to ensure that she received proper treatment.
The group said Durga’s health had deteriorated sharply from August 14, when she reportedly began passing blood in her urine and stopped eating. Despite repeated requests to the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Golaghat, for immediate medical intervention, no effective action was taken, the group alleged.
The allegations point to a prolonged chain of official inaction.
On March 20, Elephant Monitors Assam petitioned Golaghat DFO Mukutchandra Das seeking removal of the radio collar.
The group said a government veterinary examination conducted in January had already recorded that Durga was unwell and required treatment.
However, according to the group, the DFO’s office responded on March 27 stating that Durga was “healthy” and did not require treatment.
The activists subsequently approached Assam’s Chief Wildlife Warden Vinay Gupta on April 5, seeking urgent intervention for removal of the collar and treatment of the elephant. A similar petition was submitted to Khumtai MLA Mrinal Saikia on April 14.
A follow-up petition was submitted to the Golaghat DFO on May 24 seeking details of the measures taken to treat Durga and address her deteriorating condition. The activists said they received no response.
The matter was subsequently raised with Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah during a meeting on June 19.
“Despite our best efforts to alert the authorities, there was no effective intervention,” Elephant Monitors Assam said, calling for the officials responsible to be held accountable.
The controversy has also prompted a separate demand for an inquiry from the Gaja Mitra Group, Bokial, Golaghat, which submitted a representation to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on August 19.
In its representation, the group alleged that Durga had been suffering from various ailments for around one and a half years and that local Gaja Mitras and residents had continuously monitored her condition and kept the Forest Department informed.
The group alleged that although veterinary teams visited the elephant periodically, “instead of providing specialised medical treatment, they merely took photographs and considered their duty fulfilled.”
The representation further claimed that Durga’s condition worsened on August 15, following which a medical team from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), led by Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, visited the site.
According to the Gaja Mitra Group, the team did not provide treatment after examining Durga and allegedly told those present that there was no serious problem and that the elephant would recover.
Durga died around 1.30 pm on August 17.
The group has demanded that the Assam government constitute a high-level committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, establish the exact cause of death and take strict action against anyone found responsible for negligence.
The allegations have also renewed concerns over the use and monitoring of radio collars on wild elephants.
Elephant Monitors Assam has called for strict protocols governing the installation, maintenance and monitoring of radio collars among wild Asian elephants, particularly when an animal shows signs of declining health.
The group said Durga’s death should not be treated as an isolated incident.
The Asian elephant is a Schedule I species under India’s wildlife protection framework, and conservationists argue that the death of a monitored and visibly sick elephant after repeated warnings raises fundamental questions about the effectiveness of the state’s wildlife protection and veterinary response mechanisms.
Local residents in the Numaligarh area also alleged that the Forest Department failed to take adequate and timely steps to save Durga. Residents had reportedly been providing food to the elephant while she remained in the tea garden.
The Forest Department conducted the post-mortem examination and subsequently arranged for the elephant to be buried within the tea garden.
The central question now is whether Durga’s death could have been prevented.