Either relocate elephants or pay compensation, Army tells Assam govt

The Army has requested the Assam authorities to both relocate elephants of a wildlife sanctuary adjoining its base on the japanese fringe of Guwahati or compensate for the damages attributable to animals throughout frequent raids.

Major General Jarken Gamlin, the commanding officer of the Narengi Military Station, had in a July 3 letter to the State’s Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna stated the State ought to take into account shifting the elephants out of the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary or compensate for the losses incurred due to them.

There are an estimated 40 elephants within the 78.64 sq km sanctuary however the Army was particular about three that triggered a lot of the harm. The Major General stated the “attacks” by these elephants value the Army at the very least ₹15 lakh within the final six months.

A duplicate of the two-page letter was obtained through Right To Information software by setting activist Rohit Choudhury a number of days in the past.

“In case relocation of elephants is not a feasible proposition, the State may consider paying compensation for the losses being incurred since regularisation of such losses, so frequently, are subject to scrutiny by the audit authorities,” Major General Gamlin wrote.

He reminded the federal government that the navy station was the Army’s logistic hub for the whole northeast. There are giant numbers of significant belongings created for storage of logistic necessities and the elephants have triggered substantial harm to “critical logistic stores” apart from infrastructure, he stated.

Failed deterrents

Major General Gamlin stated the Army had in 2002 erected iron barricades to guard the crucial belongings however these needed to be dismantled in 2019 as a result of security considerations for the elephants raised by the Assam Forest division.

“Resorting to sterner measures to ward off these elephants at our end may not be desirable,” he wrote, offering a listing of “prophylactic measures” equivalent to digging trenches and set up of digital repellents which have did not maintain the elephants away.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest A.M. Singh confirmed receiving a replica of the Major General’s letter. PCCF (Wildlife) M.K. Yadava stated the Army’s problem about an elephant that was injured throughout an incursion was addressed.

“We are trying to find a way out. But relocation of elephants is not a good idea, particularly when the military station was set in a prime elephant area,” he instructed The Puucho on Thursday.