Pet elephants and armed guards and officers of the Bengal forest department have been engaged to protect voters and polling personnel at 170 booths in five districts of north Bengal.
All these booths are located on the fringes of reserve forests and face the threat of elephant attacks. Besides, leopards, Himalayan black bears and gaurs stray into areas near those booths.
“That is why it has been decided that from today (Friday) till tomorrow (Saturday) or even the day after, right from the arrival of the polling personnel to their departure from the booths, forest guards will conduct patrolling to prevent wild animals from reaching near the booths. They will patrol the polling premises on foot, bikes and pet elephants and in cars. The aim is to ensure that there is no disruption to the voting process because of the intrusion of wild animals,” said a senior official of the forest department.
Sources have said those 170 booths — with around 7,000 voters — are in the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.
Some of the villages are Dhupjhora and Kalipur which are on the fringes of Gorumara National Park; Godamdabri, Bhutri and Garobusty near the Buxa Tiger Reserve; and Gurdum and Rongbong near the Singalila National Park. Wild elephants frequently attack schools near the forests in north Bengal.
The elephants often reach these schools in search of fodder and there are instances where animals have damaged the building and devoured rice kept to serve mid-day meals to students.
“Many of these schools will function as polling booths tomorrow. Also, voters will walk up to these booths throughout the day. Along with the booths, it is also necessary to ensure their safety if a wild animal strays into the area. That is why the forest guards, who are experienced in handling wild animals, have been engaged,” said an official of Jalpaiguri district administration.
Apart from the pet elephants and the forest guards, central armed forces and state police will alsobe engaged near the 170 booths.
