Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: A herd of wild elephants stormed the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility in Jagiroad on Saturday. The animals descended from the Sonaikuchi hills in search of food. They moved through the Morigaon district construction site, triggering panic among the staff. Employees scrambled to evacuate the premises while others remained trapped inside as the giants roamed the complex.
Forest Department officials and police arrived quickly to push the herd back toward the forest. No injuries occurred during the encounter. This Rs 27,000-crore project occupies ground that elephants have frequented for years. The area historically hosted the Nagaon Paper Mill, where wildlife sightings were common. An elephant famously entered a local school in April 2022. Recent years have seen several incidents, including a calf rescue in 2020 and the death of a pregnant elephant in 2024 after it hit a solar fence. A train killed an adult elephant in the region this past July.
These repeated incursions have forced officials to reconsider elephant movement patterns near industrial zones. The government is currently weighing a study to map these routes. Conservationists demand better planning to protect wildlife as massive projects move forward. “Development must not come at the cost of our flora and fauna, especially our elephants,” wildlife enthusiast Ranjeeta Nayak said. Experts warn that construction must account for the Sonaikuchi Reserve Forest to prevent further conflict.
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