Elephant fodder

Jorhat, May 24: The forest department has proposed to expand the green cover in Majuli island by planting miscellaneous trees. The aim is to set up a small forest which will be a second one on the island.

The proposal, which has been sanctioned by the department recently, was prepared by the Jorhat forest range after it was observed that a 250-hectare plantation, which was started at Salmora in eastern Majuli seven years back, has now become a full-fledged forest of favourite elephant fodder.

It has been successful in keeping the elephants away from foraging into the villages of the area for food.

A big herd of over 100 jumbos has been creating havoc in terms of lives and property in Majuli for the past 14 years. Usually, it comes in winter and foresters have to keep chasing the elephants away from the villages.

The herd, however, had crossed over from the adjoining Sivasagar division 12 days back and was spotted at chaporis (sandbars) near Hatihaal which is about 14km northeast of Jorhat. The herd is moving along the chaporis near Majuli and the southern bank in Jorhat.

Divisional forest officer (Jorhat) N.K. Malakar said according to the plan, plantation will be carried out in a vacant 30 hectares plot of land at Juginidhara in the Kamalabari area of the island.

According to him, the plot of land is ideal for setting up a forest as it is a bit far from the villages and near the Brahmaputra where silt carried by the river is deposited and makes the land fertile.

Malakar said about Rs 2 lakh will be needed to plant varieties of tress including fruit-bearing trees which the elephants like so that when the jumbos visit the island they could remain inside the proposed forest and are not inclined to move into areas of human settlement.

He said the 250-hectare plantation at Salmora has been able to draw the herd inside it whenever the animals move towards the eastern side of the island and the forest staff too was finding it a bit easy to chase the herd towards the forest during its stay in the island.

Last year, the department had started a plantation of only trees that are favourite of elephants on a plot of 10 hectares at Kartik chapori in the southwest of the island, an area which is frequented by the herd of elephants so that the jumbos can feed and stay there once the plantation grows. The plantation is of bamboo, banana, jackfruit and other trees whose fruits elephants love.

Majuli forest beat officer Atul Das said once the trees grow fully, a small forest would be developed as a suitable place for the elephants to stay. He said a few more years would be needed to develop it as a tiny forest with fruit-bearing trees.