‘Ensure Wildlife Not Harmed’: Locals Oppose Barriers on Elephant Corridor Ahead of Modi’s Northeast Visit

New Delhi: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to the Northeast has already made headlines as his itinerary is set to include conflict-ridden Manipur, yet another development – captured in photos and video clips of the preparations for his scheduled visit – is making news in Assam.

Between September 4-6, a herd of wild elephants was caught on camera by locals as their movement was restricted due to a line of bamboo barricades put on the elephant corridor by the administration of Assam’s Golaghat district ahead of Modi’s visit. The prime minister is set to inaugurate a bio-ethanol plant in the state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) on September 13. One wild elephant was seen breaking the barricade to make way.

A local resident told The Wire that the barricade was put up about a week ago in anticipation of the prime minister’s visit. “And since then, a number of times, wild elephants have broken the barrier for their passage. The photos and videos that have gone viral in Assam are from different days. These incidents are from near the Letekujan Tea Estate of the district, close to the refinery.” He said, “The tea estate is on the elephant corridor, and, therefore, a number of wild elephants pass through it almost on a daily basis. Local residents don’t come in their way. In such a reality, the barricade was put up by the authorities to block their movement, which has offended local residents.” 

Another resident said, “Just ten days ago, a baby elephant was born inside the tea estate, and therefore, the herd was present in the area continuously to protect the baby. It is barely the size of a goat now. With barricades put up for the prime minister's rally, we are worried that the baby elephant will come to harm while crossing the highway along with the herd to enter the other side of the tea estate that touches the Karbi Anglong hills.”

The locals said that a wild elephant died of electrocution inside the refinery township 1.5 years ago. “There was a lot of protest by the locals [at the time], but hardly any media house carried the news initially. This, when overnight, a huge pit was dug within the refinery premises and the elephant was buried without informing the forest authorities. Much later, an arrest was carried out for the incident. After some time, the person, employed with the NRL, got bail.”

Barriers along the elephant corridor put up ahead of the prime minister's visit. Photo: Social media/X

On September 7, tweeting the viral video clip of an elephant breaking the bamboo barrier put up for the prime minister's rally, Rohit Choudhury, a local environment activist, said that putting up such barricades is “a mockery of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972”. 

Choudhury, who had petitioned the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to protect the elephant corridor around Numaligarh near the Kaziranga National Park, referred to Prime Minister Modi lauding Assam’s Hatibandhu (Friends of Elephants) initiative to mitigate man-animal conflict in his programme “Maan Ki Baat”. In January, the prime minister had said that “while animals cannot speak, humans can understand their feelings and gestures”. Choudhury then asked, “Do we really need to barricade elephant routes for the PM rally?”

Choudhury told The Wire, “This is an unfortunate incident. This incident reminds me of the Supreme Court’s oral observation in 2019 that NRL should demolish a wall as it had come in the traditional way of the elephant corridor. This latest incident has happened close to that area.”

The Supreme Court’s observation was in response to a petition filed by the NRL against an NGT order from 2016 to break down the same wall. The Tribunal had quashed a review petition filed by NRL on the matter in 2018. In 2024, a portion of the wall was demolished to clear the elephant corridor. 

“People of Assam are large hearted, and they welcome the head of the government with open arms. But the officials ought to have ensured that no wildlife is harmed during [the] honourable prime minister’s visit, and the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court’s orders are not violated,” said Choudhury.

As per a Times of India report, the bamboo barricade for the prime minister's visit was put up once again by local authorities. Golaghat additional superintendent of police (headquarters) told the newspaper that it was the act of “a stray elephant” which “had ventured out of the forest”. 

“The matter was promptly attended to. The barricade was repaired immediately. It was a small portion of the barricade,” he said. 

Prime Minister Modi, during his two-day visit to the Northeast, will inaugurate the Rs 4,200 crore ethanol project in Numaligarh. A joint venture between NRL and Assam Bio Ethanol Pvt Ltd, it will be the first facility in India to use bamboo biomass as its main feedstock to produce ethanol. It is set to produce 300,000 tons of bamboo biomass annually to produce approximately 50,000 tons of fuel-grade ethanol. 

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