On Monday evening, when a labourer was passing through a forest near Kuklung at Bijni under Assam’s Chirang district, little did he realize that death was waiting for him on the path.
Bhuwan Barman, the labourer, was passing through the area to reach his home when he came in contact with a live electric fence and died on the spot.
Sources informed that the electric fences are usually erected by villagers in a bid to keep elephant herds at bay without any approval of the forest department. The villages that come up on the encroached reserved forest usually use this deadly tactics of high voltage electric fence.
While many elephants were electrocuted in the past, Barman’s death has brought to light that it’s also humans who have fallen on the death trap. Many of such cases go unreported as no one from the villages informed police.
Last month, as many as three elephants were killed after coming into contact with high voltage electricity line on the outskirts of Guwahati. As per reports, the incident took place at Panichanda in Rani Tea Estate in the village of the Kamrup rural district of Assam which falls under the Rani Forest Office.
It has come to the fore that the wild tuskers had come out of the forest in search of food. However, they were killed after getting electrocuted.
Following the incident, the locals of the region expressed anguish and displeasure at the deaths. They also performed rituals as the mighty beast is often considered a revered figure in Hindu mythology.
