Indian State Pushes for Removal of Elephant-Migration Barrier

The state government of West Bengal has urged the Indian government to cooperate with the government of Nepal and take up the issue of barriers that prevent elephants from seasonal migration.

During the dry season Indian elephants migrate to eastern Nepal, passing through the plains of Darjeeling district in West Bengal in search of food and shelter.

In 2015, an 18-km-long electric fence was put up on the Nepalese side, which prevents Indian elephants from going to Nepal and upsets their seasonal migration.

"The migratory pattern there was from east to west, along our border with Nepal; the elephants would cross over, spend two months in Nepal and then come back," Chandan Sinha, Principal Secretary at Departments of Environment and Forest in West Bengal, told media.

"This is creating problems on our side. We have taken up the issue with the Indian government and we hope something will be done. We have requested them to take it up with the Nepalese government," Sinha added.

While being unable to follow their migration route, elephants cause much damage to property and people, wandering around human settlements and agricultural lands. As a result, elephants are killed, crops damaged and human lives lost.