Guwahati, Nov. 3: Another elephant died of electrocution at Bhutiachang tea estate in Udalguri district late last night, triggering concern among environmentalists over increasing deaths of elephants that come in contact with civilisation.

The female elephant died when it came into contact with high-tension transmission line at Section-1 of the tea garden.

The forest department has lodged an FIR at Paneri police station in this regard.

“Elephants are dying regularly and most of these are victims of man-elephant conflicts. It’s time we addressed this issue seriously,” said Arup Ballab Goswami, a wildlife activist.

Goswami said the elephant that was found dead yesterday on the bank of the Doigrong river in Golaghat district was actually poisoned. “There was no sign of any injury as claimed by the forest department. It was a clear case of poisoning which killed the pregnant elephant,” Goswami, who has been doing an extensive research on a particular herd of elephant in Numaligarh area, said today.

Last night’s incident at Udalguri district is the third of its kind since September this year. Two elephants died in different parts of the district after the animals came into contact with cables connected to high-tension power lines running above, which are laid on paddy fields by farmers to keep elephants away.

A forest official in Udalguri said the female elephant was found dead this morning.

“A cable was seen hanging from the power line, which may have come into contact with the elephant,” the official said. He added that the labourers of the tea estate had seen three elephants in the estate last evening.

Normal activities in a few tea estates in the district, mostly located along the Indo-Bhutan border, were also hampered as labourers refused to work out of fear of elephants during the past fortnight.

The official said an FIR has been lodged with police who would investigate the case whether Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) should be booked for such negligence.

“Only the police can probe into such cases,” he said.

In a similar incident, a male elephant died in Karbi Anglong district on Saturday after it came into contact with high-tension power lines hanging low after an electric post got uprooted in the Haticamp area.

Goalpara district had also witnessed the death of an elephant in a similar fashion a couple of weeks back after the animal was electrocuted as it came into contact with power cables connected to a generator.

Farmers use generators in remote areas while carrying out farming activities. The Goalpara forest department had banned the use of generators in remote forest areas by farmers soon after the incident.