Tapan Roy, a resident of Kaliaganj, a hamlet located around seven kilometres away from Jalpaiguri, had a sleepless night on Thursday.

Roy, a farmer by occupation, had just gone to bed at his home like other villagers but suddenly became alert because of relentless barking by dogs.

“It was raining heavily and I woke up. I opened the doors and lit the torch to find out what was happening. I was shocked by what I saw on the agricultural land next to my house,” said Roy.

A herd of around 70 elephants, which included cubs, was standing on the field. Soon, others woke up and panicked, seeing so many elephants in the village.

According to sources, elephant herds daily move into the dried-up bed of the Teesta in search of fodder. Because of the monsoonal downpour, water levels increased in the river, prompting the herd to enter neighbouring villages.

“The herd, which had around 70 elephants, had moved into some villages of Paharpur panchayat from the forest of Gourikon beat (which is under Baikunthapur forest division),” said Chiranjit Pal, the range officer of Belakoba forest range.

According to him, along with Kaliaganj, the herd moved through villages like Bajitpara and Chalipara.

Foresters from Belakoba, Ramsai and Lataguri reached the spot.

“The villagers were perturbed and we took the task of steering the herd back into the forest. Eventually, after a gap of around six hours, the herd returned to the forest this morning,” said Pal.

Bablu Rahaman, who stays in Chalipara, said the herd damaged jute fields and devoured corn, jackfruit and banana trees.

“We are fortunate that the elephants didn’t foray into our houses for fodder. Most of us couldn’t sleep at night, fearing elephant attack,” said Rahaman.

Although the herd had gone to the forest, the residents said there was a chance that the animals would return. “This is because unless water levels recede in the Teesta, the herd cannot cross the river to move to other forests. We have requested the foresters to keep an eye on the herd’s movement,” said Bapi Roy of Paharpur.

A senior forest department officer said they were monitoring the herd’s movement. “Our teams are on alert and if the herd strays into any village, appropriate intervention would be done to prevent elephant depredation,” he said.