Three joint forest management committees (JFMCs), which comprise residents of villages located on the fringes of the Gorumara National Park, have donated a portion of their earnings to the state forest department to hire three SUVs so that additional teams can be formed to mitigate man-animal conflicts in their areas.

Man-animal conflicts are currently controlled by teams composed of personnel of wildlife squads and guards of the forest department’s ranges and beats.

From now on, additional groups called wildlife management teams will be called into service to drive away animals that intrude into human habitats near the Gorumara forest in Jalpaiguri district.

“Three SUVs have been hired for the wildlife management teams formed in Dhupjhora, Hatipara-Dangapara and Nikhilpara of Murti (all on the fringes of Gorumara). Each team will have three members of the JFMCs and two forest guards. One of the guards will carry a firearm,” said Dwijapratim Sen, the divisional forest officer of the Gorumara wildlife division.

Sources have said the forest department pays a portion of its earnings from various sources, including entry fees and other charges paid by tourists, to the JFMCs every year. The JFMCs spend this money on development works in their respective areas.

“Three JFMCs have come forward to spend the funds they receive from the department to bear the SUV rent. The SUVs are required to take the wildlife management teams to the locations where wild animals have strayed. The additional teams will work in tandem with the wildlife squads,” said a source in the department.

A forest department officer said recent human deaths in elephant and leopard attacks had prompted the JFMCs to spend money on animal control.

“Residents of the areas concerned have alleged that our teams were late to reach their locations to ward off the marauding animals. That is why the three additional teams have been formed,” he said.

Over 70 human habitats, which include tea estates, are in the Gorumara wild-life division.