Fresh panic gripped parts of Nagaon district after five people, including a woman, were injured during an operation carried out by the Assam Forest Department to control a wild elephant in the Borma area on May 14.
According to local sources, officials from the department, including teams from the Shalna and Udmari forest ranges, were trying to drive away a wild elephant that had entered the locality and caused panic among residents. During the operation, forest personnel reportedly fired warning shots in the air to control and disperse the animal.
However, the situation turned chaotic when stray bullet fragments allegedly hit several nearby residents, leaving five people injured. Forest officials immediately shifted the injured to Samaguri Primary Health Centre for treatment.
The injured were identified as Abdul Rahman, Dulena Khatun and Khalilur Rahman, while the identities of two others were yet to be confirmed. All are reportedly residents of Bormabil village.
Doctors later discharged all five after providing preliminary treatment.
Despite the operation, the wild elephant was reportedly still roaming in the Borma area till the filing of the report, keeping residents on edge.
Local people alleged that similar incidents involving wild elephants had occurred earlier in the region, with repeated elephant intrusions damaging crops, threatening lives and disrupting village life.
Villagers said the growing human-elephant conflict has become a recurring concern across several parts of Assam, especially during night hours when elephants enter human settlements in search of food.
In another recent incident, residents of Sukuniya-Pukhuripara in the Boko area have reportedly been facing hardship due to frequent attacks by a herd of nearly 30 wild elephants.
According to villagers there, the herd enters residential and agricultural areas almost every night, damaging banana plantations, betel nut trees and standing crops, severely affecting farming families.
Locals from both affected areas have urged authorities and the Forest Department to adopt stronger preventive measures to manage elephant movement, protect human settlements and reduce crop and property damage while ensuring the safety of the animals.
The repeated incidents have once again highlighted the growing challenge of human-elephant conflict in Assam and the urgent need for long-term solutions in vulnerable rural areas.