Foresters guided a herd of more than 100 elephants across tea gardens, human settlements, the Asian Highway and a railway track to Bagdogra forest on Saturday in a six-hour operation, preventing conflict with people.
The herd had gathered at Tukriajhar forest near populated areas of Naxalbari in Siliguri subdivision over the past fortnight, prompting the Kurseong forest division to organise the drive.
More than 70 personnel, including foresters, volunteers from wildlife NGO Jumbo Troops and members of forest protection committees, participated in the operation, covering over 20km.
“It was literally a herculean task for our staff to relocate the herd safely from one forest range to another. During the task, they went through various human settlements and even through the Asian Highway and informed the railway about the relocation drive, and finally, it was done successfully,” said Devesh Pandey, the divisional forest officer of Kurseong.
A source said elephants had been arriving in small groups at Tukriajhar over the past couple of weeks.
“The forest does not have the capacity to accommodate such a large number of wild elephants, as the forest is not so dense in its vegetation. Apart from that, it is surrounded by a number of populated areas,” a forester said.
The operation began around noon and continued into the evening. The team had nine quick response vehicles and two tractors.
Among those involved were forest rangers Sambrata Sandhu of Ghoshpukur, Suraj Mukhia of Tukriajhar, Sonam Bhutia of Bagdogra and Manas Kanti Ghosh of the elephant squad, along with NGO volunteers and forest protection committee members.
The operation required coordination with the railways as the herd crossed the tracks near Kiranchandra tea garden in the Bagdogra area.
A forester said the Delhi-bound Mahananda Express was approaching the stretch while the drive was underway. The railways had been informed of the operation and imposed a speed restriction.
A forest employee also waved a red flag to stop the train while the elephants crossed.
Rikjyoti Singha Roy, the founder-president of Jumbo Troops, said elephants move from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary towards Bagdogra through Bamanpokhri range along the Balason river embankment between October and January every year.
“Considering the migration period and harvesting season, this task was carried out to prevent any conflict,” Roy said.