Flood-hit people in Assam feed hungry wild elephants

The flood situation in Assam has disrupted the normal life people in Majuli island. Due to floods caused by continuous rainfall in the region, not only humans but also wild animals are also fighting for their survival. In such a gloomy situation, some villagers of Majuli island in Assam were seen providing fodder to a herd of elephants which had come out of the forests in search of foods and got stranded in villages.

Majuli (Assam): Amid the devastating floods, people in Assam's Majuli island have set an example of humanitarian gesture by providing fodder to a herd of elephants which had come out of the forests in search of foods and got stranded in villages.

According to reports, villagers of Salmora, Bongaon, Jogigaon, Desamara, Afalamukh have joined hands to ensure that the elephants should not remain hungry. A herd of the wild elephant had been stranded on a riverine sand bar near the Majuli Island district for last several days.

After getting this information, the people of the area, who had themselves been affected by floods, went house to house for collecting donations in the form of banana plantain, sugarcane, elephant apple, salt and many other fodders.

"The people of our village have been collecting banana plantain, sugarcane, grass, rice etc and we are feeding to the elephant herd so that they can sustain. The elephant herd was probably migrating to other places when they got stranded. It is difficult to see them remain hungry," a local said.

"We had hired boats and collected donations among us to help the animals. We are also affected by the floods but we are the creation of the same God. How can we see them hungry? The elephant herd that includes over 150 animals including adult and calf have been sustaining on the fooder supplied by the villagers for last several days," local said

"The forest department had remained a mute spectator. We have informed the forest department that an elephant herd had been stranded in the sand bar. However, nothing was done. We, villagers, have taken extra efforts to ensure that the elephants have a food supply. Initially, it was one village but as time passed more people from other villages also joined hands to help the elephants," he added.

Reportedly, Assam records a substantial number of cases of human-animal conflict. Decreasing forest lands often leads to conflict between humans and animals in Assam.

Over 150 animals have been reported to have lost their lives at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Bokakhat in Assam due to drowning and other reasons on account of the severe floods in the state.

While hundreds of humans have died in conflict with animals in the past, wild animals are also being killed by humans at times for destroying paddy fields and houses. However, the incident at Majuli amid the flood havoc drew a different picture.