Kurigram authorities light up villages to fend off elephants

With herds of wild elephants roaming around villages near the Indian border and threatening to destroy crops, villagers and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel are currently on high alert. The authorities in Kurigram have set up portable generators to light up these villages at night to prevent the pachyderms from entering the periphery of croplands and human habitation. The elephants went berserk after one of them was killed during one such trans-border operation from the hills to the plains of Kurigram and Jamalpur.
The elephant was found lying dead on the no man’s land within 150 yards of the border between Bangladesh and India.
The cause of its death has remained unknown. It had apparently died while trying to break through the barbed wire fence with the herd.
India’s Border Security Force (BSF) took away the carcass, said a senior journalist of Kurigram.
Lt Col Atiar Rahman, commanding officer of the BGB (Jamalpur), confirmed the death of the elephant, adding that rampaging by the herd has become a routine affair since then.
A herd comprising 40–50 elephants are regularly crossing the border despite the fence, making forays through Makhaner Char and Miar Char of Rajibpur, where the elephant was found dead on January 23. Every night, the surges through the Rajibpur border and go rampaging through people’s homes and croplands. The district administration and local UNO have arranged generators to light up the area as a protective measure to keep the elephants away. Villagers take part in night patrol make loud noises to drive away the marauding beasts.
“Our efforts have paid off. The sound of generators, bright lights and the cacophony are forcing them back," said Atiar Rahman.
He said the BGB has already contacted its Indian counterpart, the Border Security Force (BSF), in an effort to contain the wild elephants coming down from the hills of India, where they are believed to be encountering acute shortage of food.

Kurigram authorities light up villages to fend off elephants

With herds of wild elephants roaming around villages near the Indian border and threatening to destroy crops, villagers and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel are currently on high alert. The authorities in Kurigram have set up portable generators to light up these villages at night to prevent the pachyderms from entering the periphery of croplands and human habitation. The elephants went berserk after one of them was killed during one such trans-border operation from the hills to the plains of Kurigram and Jamalpur. The elephant was found lying dead on the no mans land within 150 yards of the border between Bangladesh and India. The cause of its death has remained unknown. It had apparently died while trying to break through the barbed wire fence with the herd. Indias Border Security Force (BSF) took away the carcass, said a senior journalist of Kurigram. Lt Col Atiar Rahman, commanding officer of the BGB (Jamalpur), confirmed the death of the elephant, adding that rampaging by the herd has become a routine affair since then. A herd comprising 4050 elephants are regularly crossing the border despite the fence, making forays through Makhaner Char and Miar Char of Rajibpur, where the elephant was found dead on January 23. Every night, the surges through the Rajibpur border and go rampaging through peoples homes and croplands. The district administration and local UNO have arranged generators to light up the area as a protective measure to keep the elephants away. Villagers take part in night patrol make loud noises to drive away the marauding beasts. Our efforts have paid off. The sound of generators, bright lights and the cacophony are forcing them back, said Atiar Rahman. He said the BGB has already contacted its Indian counterpart, the Border Security Force (BSF), in an effort to contain the wild elephants coming down from the hills of India, where they are believed to be encountering acute shortage of food.