Assembly ask MLAs to vacate elephant land

Guwahati, Nov 13 (UNI) The Assam Assembly today asked its MLAs to vacate all land meant for elephants but encroached by people in their constituency.

Replying to a zero hour motion regarding elephant depredation raised by Congress MLA Rajiv Lochan Pegu, Forest Minister Rockeybull Hussain informed that there could not be a straight forward answer to the complex elephant problem.

Assam has around 2500 wild elephants while there is a fluctuating population of around 5000 pachyderms in the whole of north east which moves around the region very frequently.

The North bank of Assam has been witnessing severe depredation by elephant specially in Lakhimpur, Majuli, Bihpuriua, Biswanath areas.

The minister informed the House that the government had sought expert opinion from the WWF experts of Australia to resolve the problem.

''We are very much concerned and there is no immediate solution.

If we encroach the home of elephant and destroy their food they will obviously move out of their areas in search of food. The problem is not them but with us,'' he said.

Encroachment is a huge problem in the Northern bank. The Sonai Rupai reserve forest and even Nameri National Park were also not spared. In fact politicians were bringing in their supporters to settle them inside jungle after clearing it, making the problem even more complex.

UNI