Siliguri, Dec 15 (ANI): Tea workers in Assam are a worried lot as they continue to face repeated attacks by elephants in tea gardens.
Authorities in Assam, which produces over 50 per cent of India's tea production, said they couldn't possibly sort out the problem without the support of the state government.
"The garden area is so huge that it is not possible for the garden management people to check the entry of these elephants. Government will have to intervene, it is not possible for the management staff," said Dipanjal Deka, Secretary, Tea Association of India.
Experts believe that such situations are inevitable, as human encroachments leave no space for pachyderms.
"Tea gardens have taken over tracts of lands which used to be natural habitats of the elephants. The elephants were then pushed into the forests and even there they are not safe as the locals and outsiders have encroached it. So conflict is inevitable," said Kukhall Kowar, an expert.
A shrinking habitat has forced elephants to raid farmlands and villagers have been encroaching upon forestland to build homes, increasing the man-animal conflict in the state.
India has over 50 percent of the Asiatic elephant population. The number of elephants has dwindled over the recent years. (ANI)
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