Armoured vehicle launched to safely drive away elephants from human settlements

Alipurduar: In a step to mitigate rising human-elephant conflicts in the Madarihat block, the Jaldapara Wildlife Division on Friday introduced a specially-equipped armoured vehicle designed to safely drive away elephants from human settlements.

The vehicle was officially flagged off at a ceremony held at the Madarihat Range Office of the Jaldapara Forest Division by local MLA Jayprakash Toppo. The event saw the presence of Panchayat representatives and senior forest officials.

To further strengthen local response mechanisms, the Jaldapara Wildlife Division also launched a dedicated WhatsApp group to provide real-time updates on elephant movements in the Madarihat area. This initiative aims to enhance communication and preparedness among local residents and forest staff. In addition, a 10-member volunteer team comprising local youths has been formed to assist in elephant conflict mitigation and awareness drives. The team has been equipped with searchlights, firecrackers and awareness pamphlets to help guide community response during elephant incursions. A separate WhatsApp group has been created for swift coordination between the volunteers and forest officials.

“These efforts reflect our commitment to participatory conservation and rapid response to wildlife movement,” said Parveen Kaswan, Divisional Forest Officer of Jaldapara Wildlife Division.

In a separate incident, a leopard was trapped in a cage set by the Forest department at Section No. 1 of Bais Dhura in Raimatang Tea Garden under Kalchini Police Station. The leopard had reportedly been spotted multiple times over the past few days, causing panic among tea garden workers.

After being alerted by the garden management, the Forest department swiftly installed a trap cage in the area. The animal was found trapped on Thursday night by local residents, who promptly notified both the management and forest officials. On Friday morning, a team from the Buxa Tiger Reserve conducted a preliminary health check of the leopard. Officials stated that the animal would be released into a nearby dense forest after a full medical examination.