More habitable forests in south and safe passages in the north are two focal points of the state’s human-elephant conflict mitigation plans, said forest officials.
In south Bengal, the forest department has identified at least three forest pockets that are relatively denser. These pockets will be “developed” to make them more habitable for elephants, officials said.
In the north, the department is focussing on “securing” the elephant corridors, making them safe for the movement of the animals from one forest to another.
“In the south, the patches of forests are interspersed with human habitats. In the north, where the forests are usually bigger and denser, the journey from one forest to another is usually through tea gardens. We are responding to the conflict according to differences in the terrain. In south Bengal, we are developing some forests so that elephants have food and water. That will reduce their propensity to raid farmlands and villages,” said Soumitra Dasgupta, principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force in Bengal.
“In north Bengal, we have earmarked seven elephant corridors. We have started a project to secure one such corridor and want to replicate the model in the rest,” he said.
A herd of over 70 elephants have for the past two months been living in a forest near Barjora in Bankura. The forest, around 5sqkm, saw planting of trees that elephants love, like banyan, elephant apple and stone apple.
Foresters have also been regularly planting herbivore fodder like napier grass, which grows to edible size in a few months, in the forest.
“The elephants are getting more food in the Barjora forest. That is why they are staying there. The number of raids has gone down,” said an official.
Banana trees from the nearby villages are also being dumped in the Barjora forest.
Two other such forest patches that have been identified are Tapoban in Jhargram and Lalgarh, which falls under the administrative jurisdiction of Jhargram but forest supervision of the West Midnapore division.
“We are planting similar trees and fodder in both forests. The trees that are being planted are around 6ft tall. They will start bearing fruits in a year.,” said the forest official.
Food is not the only concern. The department is hiring workers to dig ponds inside the forests to ensure a steady water supply for the elephants.
People are being hired under multiple job schemes, including the MGNREGA, said the official.
In north Bengal, a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) around 15 years ago had identified around 14 elephant corridors.
“We have earmarked seven such corridors in the preliminary stage. We have started securing one of them as a test case. If the results are satisfactory, we will replicate the model in the remaining six,” said an official.
A corridor is a route that elephants take while moving from one forest to another. The route often passes through tea gardens.
The corridor that foresters are focusing on now is one between Buxa and Jaldapara forests, north of Hashimara. The route includes two tea gardens.
“We plan to have enough elephant fodder along the route. Energised fencing and a watchtower are also being planned,” said the official.
Six more such corridors, in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, will be secured the same way if this one works, he said.