It seems an Assam-based NGO has stolen a lead over other agencies in coming forward with what could be a solution to the worsening man-wild animal conflict pitting humans against elephants.

Recent Guwahati- based media reports mention the launching of a new banana tree plantation drive in upper Assam by the NGO, Green Valley Forest and Wlidlife Protection Society. To help save wildlife, birds and elephants, the organisation proposes to plant banana trees close to the traditional corridors of movement used by the animals.

This, organisation spokespersons feel, will not only save elephants the trouble of foraging for food in human settlements, but reduce global warming as well. The group has started planting such trees in the Samrang forest near the Indo-Bhutan boder area and parts of the Dhansiri division. They plan to plant around 8000 trees by early September this year. They have involved local people in the drive to save environment and wild life, in what seems to be an imaginative solution to a very complex problem.

In North Bengal, at least 9 elephants and two bisons have been killed in railway accidents since 2005, apart from the killing of such animals by poachers. In the Dooars forest, the dense jungles in the north Bengal-Assam border areas and the Indo-Nepal border areas, at least 350 elephants remain on the move for food. In recent years, railway services have been expanded and meter gauge lines replaced by broad gauge. This has resulted in greater speed for heavier trains and engines, with which the large lumbering animals are not always able to cope, especially at night. These lines crisscross their natural corridors of movement.

With help from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the West Bengal government set up a committee to recommend ways to reduce such accidents and check increasing man-animal conflicts through specific measures. Its recommendations are yet to be known.

Meanwhile, elephants have been known to have turned violent not only in search for food, but for “drinks” as well, ironically. In July 2008 alone, over a week, at least four people were killed near the tea plantations close to the Buxa Tiger Reserve. The reason : illicit liquor was made and sold nearby in several huts and shops, which kept open till late at night. As labourers tended to return home late after their tipple, they fell prey to marauding bands of pachyderms, which were drawn by the whiff of the illicit brew. Local authorities decided that liquor selling shops should close earlier during the day, to prevent the possibility of nighttime attacks.

A related problem reported by the Guwahati-based media highlights the disastrous impact of seasonal elephant movement on India's border security. It seems moving herds of elephants, active along forests and fields along the Indo-Bangladesh border, play havoc with the border fencing and pillars. Last year, according to reports, at least five border pillars were damaged, while the fencing too was damaged at least in six herd attacks! Worse, illegal migrants took advantage of the confusion and devastation caused by the animals and sneaked into Indian territory. The number of elephants believed to be active in the regions close to Garo hills and Tura areas in Meghalaya is nearly 400. BSF guards have been killed in some attacks. Troops on the Indian side now use crackers and other explosives in a bid to scare away marauding herds.

The Nepal government has the worst record in this respect. Nepalese border guards as well as villagers close to the Indo-Nepal border have no compunction in shooting down the animals ruthlessly whenever they approach Nepalese territory from India. Many elephants have been killed in recent months. Indian border authorities have repeatedly taken up the matter with their Nepalese counterparts, but so far without much effect. Indignant protests from and concern expressed by animals lovers, NGOs and common people have had no effect on the Nepalese. (IPA)