Elephant herd halts work at Hila Tea Garden in Dooars

Jalpaiguri: Work at the Hila tea plantation in Nagrakata, Dooars, came to a sudden halt on Thursday morning when a herd of about 15 elephants emerged from the forest and entered the tea garden.

The elephants’ arrival disrupted workers who were picking leaves in the garden, causing them to flee in panic.

“A herd of wild elephants suddenly entered Section 24 of the Hila Tea Garden in Nagrakata block on Thursday morning,” said garden worker Etoa Munda. “Due to this incident, all plantation work was halted.” Upon receiving the news, foresters from the Khunia Range promptly arrived and cordoned off the area, ensuring the safety of the workers by restricting access to the garden. The Forest department indicated that efforts would be made to guide the elephants back into the forest by evening.

As the elephants continued to roam the tea garden throughout the afternoon, work remained suspended for the day. Dwijaa Pratim Sen, Divisional Forest Officer of the Gorumara Wildlife Division, confirmed, “The herd crossed from Bhutan into the Dinara forest and entered the tea garden. Forest personnel are monitoring the situation, and we plan to move the herd back into the forest after dusk.”

In another incident two brothers from the same family were killed after being attacked by an elephant. The incident occurred in the Kestopur area of Bagdogra. The deceased have been identified as Ajay Orao and Sanjay Orao; they were residents of the Muri Basti area in Naxalbari. They had been working at a shopping Mall in Matigara. According to sources, late on Wednesday night, they were returning home from Matigara after completing work, on a motorbike. When they reached the Kestopur area, they came in front of an elephant that attacked them. While one died on the spot the other died on the way to the hospital. A post-mortem was conducted at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital on Thursday.