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Wild elephants threaten Guwahati airport

Mrinal Talukdar in Guwahati

Two of the Northeast's most crucial airports are being threatened by wild elephant herds even as the Assam government has sought permission from the Centre to catch 20 tuskers.

S Doley, the chief conservator of forests and wildlife, confirmed that the state forest department had sought permission from the Centre to capture 20 elephants this year to minimise the threat.

One herd has moved to within a kilometre radius of the Guwahati airport, which is being developed as an international airport.

At Tezpur, the Indian Air Force and the state forest authorities are struggling to keep the elephants away. Senior IAF officials said that more than 150 tuskers move around on the Tezpur airfield at night which not only hampers the night flyers (trainee pilots), but also makes it impossible for the groundsmen to carry out their duties.

He said the forest area inside the air base being peaceful, the animals take shelter there during the day and move out in search of food at night.

Although there are no forests in the vicinity of the Guwahati airport, the herd of around 60 adult elephants move down from the Garo Hills during the harvesting season and approach the airport.

According to the renowned elephant expert D Choudhury, it was just a matter of time before the herd moves into the safe environment of the Guwahati airport. ''If one of the elephants strayed into the area, the entire herd will follow it...it will be then very difficult to chase them out,'' he cautioned.

Chouhdury, who has been hired by the Assam forest department to chase away these elephants, said the herd might have lost its fear of humans, which is a dangerous sign.

For the past few years, human lives have been lost and property damaged in the state as wild elephants stray into human habitats due to the loss of their usual migratory corridors because of the large-scale destruction of forest cover and encroachment. ''At best, what we can do is to chase away the herds of wild elephants straying into human habitats,'' Doley said.

Meanwhile, the Sonitpur district magistrate, Naba Kumar Chetia has promulgated section 144 Criminal Procedure Code after sunset prohibiting the bursting of crackers, using focus lights and other means to terrorise wild tuskers. According to the authorities, wild elephants sheltering in the area should not be terrorised as it may cause danger to life and property of the inhabitants nearby.

UNI

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