State forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick in his four-day visit to north Bengal later in this month will explore options to curb the man-animal conflict in the region. His visit was planned after talks with Abhishek Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP and all-India general secretary of Trinamul, on Tuesday.

Abhishek, at a public meeting in Dhupguri of Jalpaiguri district, flagged the issue of elephant depredation while underscoring that such attacks lead to loss of crops.

He also asked party workers and leaders to stand by farmers and join hands with them to stop elephant attacks, a move being seen as another attempt by the young Trinamul leader to reach out to people of north Bengal. After the public meeting, he spoke with party leaders of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts at the same venue, said a party insider. During that interaction, the issue of man-animal conflict was raised. Abhishek then called up the state forest minister and had a talk.

“It was agreed that after July 21 (when the party will have its Martyrs' Day meeting in Calcutta), the minister will be here for four days,” said a Trinamul insider.

During his visit, Mallick will hold talks with officials of his department as well as with Trinamul leaders of districts from where intrusion of animals is often reported.

Elephant depredation is a common problem in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts and Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district.

Elephants enter villages and tea estates in search of food, damaging crops, tea plantations, houses and even primary schools and shops in their wake. A number of human casualties and injuries are also reported every year.

Another problem which residents, especially the tea population, face is intrusion of leopards. Leopards enter tea gardens, take away cattle and poultry and also attack people.

“Elephant attack is a key problem in farm belts close to the elephant corridor that extends from India-Nepal border to Bengal-Assam border. Abhishek’s focus indicates Trinamul intends to address key issues of the rural populace in some areas of north Bengal ahead of the panchayat elections,” said a political observer of the region.