LIVING WITH ELEPHANTS

Part 2...

In the forested parts of Bengal’s West Midnapore district, man is at a face-off with one of the world’s largest mammal, the Elephant. Every day, every hour, and every inch of land, is a fight for survival.Bengal’s increasing forest cover is a result of the joint forest management program by the forest departments, (JFMC) that entails the participation of local communities and state agencies in forest upkeep, and development supported by the forest department. Most importantly, there are no natural and declared protected areas of forest or sanctuary here.

South Bengals growth in agricultural practices, ensuring year-round crop cultivation is now cited as a primary reason for the increasing number of foraging animals, including elephants, who have developed a taste for agricultural crops over the last few years. The truth is that elephants are not intruders in this land, but this particular zone is consisted with peculiar landscape with small patches of forests interspersed with paddy fields and other valuable crops. The pachyderms stay for more than 8 out of 12 months every year. Their numbers and length of stay in the south Bengal districts is only increasing.

In the arsenal of the forest department is the hooter or Airavat. A four-wheel drive truck retrofitted with 150 kW and 100 kW searchlights, a generator, red and blue flash lights, a multi toned shrill hooter, radio transmission, a public-address system along with a tranquillizer set, ropes, chains and nets for elephant capture. The Airavat is always in action stepping in many times, as the line of control protecting villagers from angry elephants which somehow avoid the Airavat. 

Despite the hooter and blinding lights, many times the elephants refuse to move, rather trumpet in retaliation coming as close as 10 meters to the Airavat.

A lot of initiatives by the department which are developed jointly by the department and the forest department in their JFMC meetings like the awareness campaigns and mass SMS elephant alerts have kept the toll down to 5 people in 2017. 

People have found many ways to get rid of elephant depredation in south Bengal. Previously forest department used to form a team for monitoring the elephant herd but nowadays with increasing population and encroachment of forest land it’s not possible to monitor with a departmental team. Moreover, people are so scared that they use crackers, burnt mobile to light Masals, create loud noise. Sometimes villagers create nuisance and injure elephants as well. Villagers sometimes demand money from the local foresters to help in driving the elephants towards forest. They block roads outside villages, block elephant’s corridors as well. Harassment to foresters by local people is becoming common during elephant depredation in south Bengal. These behaviors of some villagers only increase damage and number of human death caused due to intervention in elephant driving by the forest officials.

Since 29.10.2018 West Bengal govt. has been giving a compensation of Rs. 4,00,000/- for death of any human being to their families. Three tier (by forest department, local gram panchayat and Block level Karmadhakya regarding forest and land matter) checking process for any compensation is mandatory.

Although human-elephant conflict is in a critical situation in south Bengal like all over the country we have to analyse the scenarios in regular basis and find new solutions and way to mitigate the problem to make a balance over the situation. Any new idea for solving the situation is welcome to save human and wildlife. Without peoples participation it cannot be mitigated. A sense of coexistence among people is necessary that they have to survive with the situation and adapt accordingly with the aids and helps of forest department and foresters. 

As we see the damage in the morning, the paddy fields have all been trampled, invaded by elephants. Marked by jumbo footprints and mounds of dung. The water bodies where the SHGs and villagers have been investing in fish culturehave all be destroyed. Despite that the villagers are patient and only seek support and compensation from the forest department. 

The state’s chief wildlife warden and principal chief conservator of forests, Ravi kant Sinha says: The state government paid compensation of Rs 1.45 crore and over Rs 11 lakh for crop loss and damaged houses, respectively, in Midnapore division during 2016-17.

Photo: Sashidhar Vempala. The elephant tracks and destruction can be clearly seen in this drone shots  

Photo: Sashidhar Vempala. The elephant tracks and destruction can be clearly seen in this drone shots  

Photo: Sashidhar Vempala. Beat officer, Sharboni Dey, inspect the fields for damage evaluation and compensation filing the next day of crop raiding. 

For this already stressed forest force of 2-3 people in a single beat, it is only about a full night elephant drive, damage assessment during the day and manage angry villagers the whole day. This is a routine for almost 8-9 months a year. 

Banchbo mora Banchbe ora. “Let them live, and we also live”a campaign being run by the forest department along with SHER has in the past few years educated many local youths into better behavior and tolerance towards the elephants. 

Photo: Sashidhar Vempala. The educating and awareness program in progress.

Joydip Kundu, of SHER says: “The only way to reduce this conflict is by working together. The elephants will continue to stay, but it is important for all stakeholder, the villagers, the department to work together, cooperate for common objectives. Conflict will only add more conflict and not resolve anything. Ground realities are completely different and relevant support is needed in line with the ground requirements. 

He says: Most annoyingly there’s a surge in conflict-happy conservation photographers who not only add to the peril of the animals and the villagers, both but they initiate to craft an unhappy situation of conflict, which is making the situation out of hand, and all this without giving a workable solution. The world media sitting in a safe corner has no knowledge on ground realities. Yes sometimes things go ruthless and out of control as in most conflict cases of mob crisis. After a decade of witnessing this, I can only see the blame game and misinterpretation of the fact which is making both, the elephants and the villagers getting angrier and more difficult to deal with. Protection of Elephants in South Bengal being the prime concern for SHER, we solely depend on instilling trust and compassion in villagers who are in direct conflict with them. Strengthening the bridge between the villagers and the foresters is of utmost importance to us”.

A lot of people react to posts on social media to the conflict and feel only the elephants, not who understand the plight of villagers and the ill equipped and understaffed forest depart. None empathize and appreciate that despite conflict, the villagers have co-existed with these giants. Fact remains that social posts do-not portray the true picture and most do not understand ground realities. Half understood activism leads to greater problems for the people on the ground and does more harm to the efforts.

Table: Damage and death caused due to elephant depredation:

(Elephant depredation Report of Medinipur Division under Western Circle, WB Forest Department– For the year 2013 -2014 to 2018 -2019)

If the elephants have to be protected, then the conflict needs immediate mitigation, and the protectors also need their powers. There is immense need for a cohesive support system for the villagers and the forest department, and therealso a need for much stronger resources support to the forest department, such as drones, night vision equipment’s, more personnel with greater capacity building trainings for both the personal and the elephant driving teams. Positive political “will”and understanding the critically of the situation by all is needed to treat it at a far serious levelso that it can give the required phillip to the mitigation process.

The villagers worship the elephants and want to co-exist. But when their existence is challenged, they would no longer tolerate it and that’s my greatest fear. The more problems the villagers face, the more dangerous it will prove for the elephants. Over the years, the conflict has only become worse. With meagre resources at all ends, people barely live off cultivation. With non-contiguous forest tracts interspersed with human habitat it a conflict between the deprived. One deprived of its habitat and corridors and the other deprived of development and resources. No one wants to give up what they get and that’s why the solution can only be collective and not conflicting. 

Link to my documentary