Mahout killed by pet elephant..... Mahout death fuels cry for regular jobs

ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY, TT, 29 Oct 2019, Alipurduar: A mahout's death in the Jaldapara National Park following an attack by a pet elephant has sparked demands for job regularisation.

Chaure Majhi, 34, who rode Mitali, the 40-year old pachyderm, had gone to the pilkhana (training centre) to feed the animal around 4 pm on Sunday.

Sources said the elephant grabbed Majhi by its trunk and flung him to the ground. Majhi was rushed to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri where he died early Monday morning. Following the incident, mahouts started demanding regularisation of jobs.

The mahouts are recruited as daily wagers and sources said they earn approximately Rs 6,600 per month.

"If mahouts are regularised, not only will our salary get better but our families will also receive better monetary compensation and jobs. There is no financial security for us and our family," said a mahout.

Patawala (people who collect fodder and also take care of elephants), too, are raising the same demand.

The Jaldapara National Park has 56 mahouts and an equal number of patawalas to take care of the 80 elephants in the sanctuary. A mahout said: "Our friends are demoralised following the incidentForest department sources said Majhi would get Rs 4 lakh -- the compensation given to the families of those killed by elephants. "However, we will not get anything beyond what the public get as compensation in an elephant-related death," said another mahout.

Most mahouts, sources said, have learnt the trade from their previous generation. Many complained about lack of proper training. "These mahouts are given occasional training," another forest source said.

Asked about the matter, Ravikant Sinha, the chief wildlife warden, said experts were hired for training. "Two years back, we had sent a proposal to the finance department for recruitment of 120 mahouts across the state. We get experts to train these mahouts and patawalas," Sinha said over phone from Calcutta.