Shillong: Elephants rampaged through Chirakatta village, wrecking over a dozen homes and leaving families homeless. Mawsynram MLA Ollan Singh Suin toured the site Wednesday alongside Wildlife Protection Department staff to survey the wreckage. The buildings still stand, but they are too dangerous to inhabit.
Suin pushed the state government to fast-track relief payments for the displaced families. He flagged a major backlog in compensation, noting that claims for property and crop losses from last year remain unpaid. To fix the stall, Suin wrote to the Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management. He wants these incidents classified under disaster protocols to guarantee payouts within a set window.
Wildlife officials at the scene showed locals how to use smoke from burning dried chillies to scare off the animals. Suin wants this training to expand across the region to lower the risks of human-animal run-ins. He urged the public to stay smart, noting, “Elephants are generally not aggressive unless provoked. People need to know how to manage encounters so that conflict can be avoided.”
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