Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb reached Hatighisha in the Naxalbari block of Siliguri subdivision on Friday and met the family members of the two who had died in an elephant attack near Bagdogra on Wednesday late night.

He called on the bereaved families soon after chief minister Mamata Banerjee left Bagdogra for Calcutta.

“The chief minister has instructed me to meet the bereaved family members of Sanjay Oraon and Ajay Oaraon who were trampled to death by a wild elephant (at Kestopur). I have conveyed the chief minister's condolences to them and promised all possible support,” said Deb.

Officers of the Kurseong forest division said they had taken measures to prevent elephant attacks at Kestopur on Asian Highway 2 (around 17km from Siliguri).

Devesh Pandey, the Kurseong divisional forest officer, said the spot had been marked as an elephant crossing zone. So far, another location near the Kiranchandra tea estate, which is also off AH 2, was known as a route taken by elephants to cross the highway. It is 3km from Kestopur

“We have installed a CCTV camera at the spot and deployed a quick response team (QRT),” said Pandey.

At the site near the Kiranchandra tea estate, the department has already installed CCTV cameras and deployed two QRTs.

Pandey also pointed out that indiscriminate dumping of waste beside the highway near Kestopur was a major reason that attracts elephants and other animals for fodder.