Elephant attacks: WB to have new wildlife division

A new division will be created by the Forest department in West Midnapore district in view of frequent elephant attacks, West Bengal Forest minister Binoy Krishna Burman said today.
The new Wildlife South division will have its head office in Jhargram under a Divisional Forest Officer, Burman told reporters during a visit here.
He said the move was necessitated by frequent elephant attacks for the past seven-eight years and the division will help the department monitor jumbos straying into human habitations leading to man-animal conflict and tackle the situation in a more effective manner.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 14 had said in West Midnapore, "The number of elephants has increased with many entering West Bengal from Odisha, Jharkhand and Nepal."

Attacks by elephants not only damage crops but often result in casualties, Banerjee had told reporters.