Ctg residents again block roads protesting elephant attack, demand immediate action
They vowed to continue their movement until a permanent solution is ensured
Residents in Chattogram's Karnaphuli upazila today (27 March) once again blocked roads protesting the authorities' failure to curb recurring elephant attacks.
Hundreds of villagers gathered in the morning and blocked the PAB road in front of Daulatpur School, causing severe traffic congestion.
The protesters said they staged demonstration as the authorities failed to take effective measures to control the elephant menace despite a four-day deadline given earlier.
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They vowed to continue their movement until a permanent solution is ensured.
The villagers also blocked Jailaghata section of the CUFL road in Anwara upazila.
By 12:30pm, a joint effort by the army and police convinced the protesters to clear the roads, Karnaphuli Police Station Officer-in-Charge Muhammad Sharif told The Business Standard.
Leading the protest, Chittagong University student Wasim Akram said, "The forest and environment adviser must give us a clear assurance—either in person or over the phone—about when this issue will be resolved. Otherwise, we will not withdraw our protest.
"Meanwhile, the Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone [KEPZ] is maintaining a silent stance on this matter," he added, reports UNB.
When contracted, KEPZ Assistant Managing Director Mushfiqur Rahman said, "KEPZ is a major industrial zone, and we never faced such issues before. We also want a quick resolution. We have repeatedly written to the Forest Department, but no effective measures have been taken. However, we are ready to cooperate in any way necessary."
Karnaphuli Zone Assistant Commissioner (AC) Jamal Uddin Chowdhury said managing the elephant issue falls under the jurisdiction of the upazila administration and the Forest Department. "However, we will take measures to ease public suffering."
The protests come after a tragic incident on 22 March, when a three-month-old child was killed in an elephant attack. In response, enraged locals staged a road blockade from early morning that day, prompting authorities to request four days to address the crisis.
The increasing elephant attacks have become a pressing issue in the hilly areas of the KEPZ in Anwara. Wild elephants frequently attack homes around the Deyang Hills, leading to repeated confrontations between residents and elephants.
Since June 2018, elephant attacks in Anwara and Karnaphuli have resulted in the deaths of 19 people in the last six years.
