JALPAIGURI & KOLKATA: Forest areas and wildlife have taken a hit after heavy rains in north Bengal since Saturday night, leading to severe flooding.A senior forest department official said that as per reports till Sunday afternoon, affected areas include Hamiltonganj under Buxa west in Alipurduar, forests under Jalpaiguri division, Jaldapara National Park (particularly the Sisamara zone) and the Gorumara National Park. State’s chief wildlife warden Sandeep Sundriyal said, “Our forest infrastructure has been hit severely. Our primary focus is on rescuing straying animals.”According to Koustav Choudhury of SNAP Foundation, there is report of a rhino death at Medhla beat under Gorumara south division. “Another rhino that strayed into Ramshai village has been rescued. It will take time to drive it towards forest,” he added.According to S P Pandey of Society for Protecting Ophiofauna & Animal Rights (SPOAR), at least four-five elephants, including calves, from a herd of around 30 are stuck in the Jaldhaka river near Panbari. “They have been stuck since Saturday night. Efforts are on to drive them back towards another route so that they can move inside the forest,” said a source.According to Bhaskar JV, chief conservator of forest (wildlife), north Bengal, there are reports of six rhinos being washed away. “Of them, one was found dead in Gorumara and another was rescued from a village. In Jaldapara, four rhinos were seen stuck in Torsa waters. While two of them have managed to reach the mainland, another was washed almost 10 km away towards Ghoksadanga in Cooch Behara. The last one is yet to be traced,” he said, adding that an India gaur had also been rescued in Jaldapara. According to Parveen Kaswan, DFO of Jaldapara wildlife division, rescue teams and elephant squads have been pressed into service. “The rhino population is concentrated mainly near the riverbed of Torsa, that is flowing through the park. Our teams are patrolling the park,” he added.According to Pandey, rain in the hills has flooded rivers such as Jaldhaka, Torsa and Kaljani, affecting the nearby regions, forests and wildlife. “Smaller rivers like Neora and Diana, too, are flowing above the danger level,” he added.The wooden bridge over Hollong river connecting Hollong bungalow site was swept away. Another on it connecting Jaldapara Tourist Lodge was also washed away, leaving six from Kolkata stranded. They were rescued using kunki elephants. Foresters fear that more animal carcasses will be found once water recedes.
