The United Achik Youth Forum (UAYF) has come down heavily on the district administration as well as the Wildlife Department after warnings of an impending attack of a wild herd of elephants were ignored, leading to the destruction of a house in the village of Kalaphara, South West Khasi Hills.
The village through which the elephants trampled through falls under the Ranikor Sub Division near the border with Bangladesh.
According to the NGO, the herd moved through the house of one Kurinath Ch Sangma yesterday evening, leading to the dwelling being completely destroyed.
“On December 12 we had warned the administration as well as the Wildlife Department of a group of wild elephants that were spotted nearby and of an impending attack by the pachyderms. However, despite our information nothing was done on the ground to protect the lives of the people who later ran for their lives when the elephants stormed the village,” said Sangra Marak, President of UAYF.
The attacks have reportedly become more frequent in recent times. This is the third such instance of elephants ravaging human habitation, mainly due to the presence of food and grains, in the past few months. Although no lives were lost, significant damage had been done to people’s property in the villages where the elephants moved through.
The NGO added that they had requested the state and district administration to set up a wildlife camp to monitor the situation and help the people in handling the situation. However, these requests have yielded no results.
“I have even submitted applications on behalf of the people on the matter. They have been saving themselves through being very vigilant. On behalf of the people of the region, I request the authorities to kindly take notice and act on the matter before there are casualties or untoward incidents,” added Marak.
