The West Bengal government has started screening drivers and guides of vehicles which take tourists inside Jaldapara sanctuary, in the wake of a recent incident in which a rhino charged towards a car with travellers on board leading to its toppling over.

A senior official said that following the death of a school student in an elephant attack on the way to the examination centre in Jalpaiguri district last month, the forest department is also working on an action plan to restrict the movement of jumbos within their habitat.

"It is not entirely possible to ensure a situation where the paths of animals and humans will not cross but we have already undertaken an extensive screening of all drivers and guides to check their alertness and skills,” Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy told PTI.

He said the Jaldapara incident happened when the driver of the tourist vehicle had erred while reversing the vehicle apparently in panic as the animal was darting towards it. The department is also checking the fitness of each vehicle being deployed.

There are 292 rhinos in the Jaldapara forest area but there had not been any previous instance involving rhino-humans in a similar way in recent times, he said.

"We have also asked the guards to keep a tab on the conduct of the tourists. Inappropriate behaviour by anyone which might disturb the animals will not be allowed to board vehicles going inside forests," he added.

The official said the department is also mulling a proposal to bring tourists and driver-guards going inside forests under insurance cover.

On the death of a class 10 state board examinee who was trampled by an elephant, Roy said, “We are working on an action plan to see to it that elephants don't stray beyond their habitat. If they don't stray beyond their corridors, the possibility of man-animal conflict will be less.” Altogether 14 corridors were earmarked in the northern part of West Bengal where the movement of wild elephants would be restricted as soon as possible, Roy said adding that seven of them would get priority.

“These corridors will ensure that elephants and humans don't come into each other's way frequently," he added.

The officer said that the forest department has firmed up a plan to relocate the pachyderms across the state to areas having plenty of water, food stock, wide moving space and non-contiguous human settlements.

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