A FARMER was trampled to death by wild elephants at Naikhyangchhari upazila in Bandarban hill district on Friday. Police said a herd of wild elephants went to the area from the forest nearby at night. The farmer met the tragic end of his life when he went to watch over the paddy bundles collected during the day at nearby paddy field. The herd of elephants marched there and trampled him on their way to cross the field.
Death of village people by the wild elephants has become very common in the recent days. These animals often come to the locality in search of food and kill the locals. Not only in the remote hilly villages of Chittagong Hill Tracts, the elephant herds in the recent days are also creating disastrous situation in different villages of plain land. Two days back, two persons were killed when wild elephants damaged a number of houses in Boalkhali of Chattogram district. The villagers are now passing their days in utmost anxiety. Local police or other security agencies can do a very little in this regard, when the Department of Forest remains indifferent.
The elephants and other animals have to leave their safe places in the large forest — stretching from Cox’s Bazar to Chattogram — due to unplanned rehabilitation of Rohingya refugees. The newcomers not only forced to displace the wild animals, but also have made an environmental havoc by cutting a large number of trees. The economic loss of Bangladesh for the environment and ecological misbalance is yet to be estimated. Especially, the elephants’ main dependency on green foods that means banana trees etc has been severely affected by the deforestation. On the other hand, the forest department and other departments concerned have miserably failed to create alternative arrangements for the wild animals, particularly elephants. So, these animals have no other way but to come to localities in search of their food.
An urgent plan is needed to save our wildlife from early destruction.
Death of village people by the wild elephants has become very common in the recent days. These animals often come to the locality in search of food and kill the locals. Not only in the remote hilly villages of Chittagong Hill Tracts, the elephant herds in the recent days are also creating disastrous situation in different villages of plain land. Two days back, two persons were killed when wild elephants damaged a number of houses in Boalkhali of Chattogram district. The villagers are now passing their days in utmost anxiety. Local police or other security agencies can do a very little in this regard, when the Department of Forest remains indifferent.
The elephants and other animals have to leave their safe places in the large forest — stretching from Cox’s Bazar to Chattogram — due to unplanned rehabilitation of Rohingya refugees. The newcomers not only forced to displace the wild animals, but also have made an environmental havoc by cutting a large number of trees. The economic loss of Bangladesh for the environment and ecological misbalance is yet to be estimated. Especially, the elephants’ main dependency on green foods that means banana trees etc has been severely affected by the deforestation. On the other hand, the forest department and other departments concerned have miserably failed to create alternative arrangements for the wild animals, particularly elephants. So, these animals have no other way but to come to localities in search of their food.
An urgent plan is needed to save our wildlife from early destruction.
