Patton wants elephant issue be solved

Parliamentary Secretary for Border Affairs Y Patton expressed serious concern on the rampant destruction of paddies and other crops by wild elephants every year particularly in his Wokha district.

Talking to Asian Tribune here on Monday, the Parliamentary Secretary said farmers in the district (Wokha) could not go to their paddy fields as they had been attacked from time to time by wild elephants. Even two persons were killed last year in Wokha district by wild elephants, he revealed.

The Parliamentary Secretary said farmers from his range in Tuyi area could not harvest last year due to fear of being attacked by wild elephants in the paddy fields. Because of their failure to properly cultivate and harvest over the years, there have been sharp fall in the production of crops and paddies, he said adding, “The farmers are starving and they now start asking rice from us,” he stated.

Patton recalled that earlier about 70 elephants were there in Bhandari and Sanis areas but in course of time, half of them migrated to his Tuyi constituency. He further disclosed that these elephants had been there for the last about 30 years and their people had been suffering because of them (elephants) for the last 30 years. “This is a serious issue which cannot be neglected as it severely affected the human lives,” he cautioned adding, “If the situation continues unattended to, things will turn into unwanted development one day.”

He further urged the State Forest Department to immediately plan out as to how this menace would be solved at the earliest.

- Asian Tribune -