Assam: Wild elephant herd attacks scooter in Tinsukia; two girls narrowly survive

Guwahati: Two young girls miraculously survived a life-threatening encounter with a herd of wild elephants on Thursday, around 7:30 pm at the Pengeri–Dibrujan–Popolajan junction, an elephant corridor in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam.

They survived after abandoning their scooter and jumping into a roadside ditch to escape the wild animals. The incident occurred amid the rapidly escalating human–elephant conflict in the region, fueled by shrinking forests, encroachment, and unchecked habitat destruction.

Eyewitnesses said the two girls — Eni and Anjana Chingfou — were returning home on a scooter when they suddenly came face-to-face with a massive herd. Realizing the danger within seconds, the duo abandoned their vehicle and leapt into a nearby drain, narrowly escaping death. Their scooter, however, was smashed and heavily damaged by the elephants.

Moments later, a truck driver known locally as Bulu Driver, with the help of Deepak and Harendra, rescued the terrified young girls and transported them safely to their homes in Duarmara Chingfou village. Villagers hailed the timely intervention as life-saving.

A resident strongly condemned the continued destruction of forest patches, warning that indiscriminate clearing of green cover is directly intensifying the human–wildlife conflict.

“People must wake up. It is not outsiders but locals destroying forests for quick money. Because of this, wild animals and humans are meeting face-to-face every day. If we continue like this, elephants and even tigers will start living inside our villages in the next 10–15 years,” the resident said.

Unnatural climate patterns, sudden hailstorms, and off-season lightning clearly signal an ecological imbalance caused by reckless deforestation.

Another resident insisted that the area urgently needs stronger protective measures.
He demanded:

• A permanent Forest Beat/Special Party Camp near the corridor
• Solar-powered streetlights on both sides of the road for at least 1 km
• Strict action against forest destruction

“If timely steps are not taken, a far more dangerous disaster is guaranteed,” he warned.

On the same evening, villagers from Bordirak reported that elephants had entered human settlements, destroyed crops, and wandered dangerously close to homes. Locals fear that the situation may worsen unless authorities intervene swiftly.

The recent pattern of wild elephants moving deeper into human habitats indicates a major ecological crisis unfolding across Tinsukia district in Upper Assam — once rich with continuous forest belts but now fragmented by human activity.

Unless policymakers, forest officials, and local communities act collectively, experts fear that the region will soon witness more frequent and possibly fatal encounters.