Heavy rains due to a cloudburst have devastated large areas of North Bengal. Many people have lost their homes. Several rivers in North Bengal are overswelling. Herds of elephants, bison, and rhinos have been swept away by the floodwaters in the devastated North Bengal. Multiple animals were affected by the currents of the Torsa River.
On Tuesday, forest workers returned five rhinos that had been swept away in the Torsa River to the jungle.
Five rhinos had been carried into populated areas of Alipurduar by the Torsa's currents. They were brought safely back to the jungle on Tuesday. Parveen Kaswan, an officer with the Indian Forest Service (IFS), shared this on social media on Tuesday. He stated that the rhinos remained exhausted and frightened even after he returned. The forest department, the police, and the locals, however, had been monitoring these rhinos for the last three days. They were later cautiously led back into the jungle.
He informed that out of the total five rhinos, two had already been rescued and sent back to the jungle earlier. The remaining three rhinos were found in the Palashbari, Shimlabari, and Natunpara areas. They, too, were safely returned to the jungle after an overnight operation on Monday. However, he stated that during this entire operation, no local people or wildlife were harmed. The forest department has thanked those who came forward in this joint initiative to protect wildlife.
On another note, not only in the Torsa, but many animals have also been swept away in the currents of the Jaldhaka, Shishamara, and Mechi rivers. On Sunday, a rhino was found dead. The next day, the body of a bison was recovered from a sandbar in Jaldhaka. Thanks to the sincerity of residents, a deer was rescued from the river in Dhupguri's Dakua. An elephant calf was rescued in Naxalbari. In such a situation, the return of five rhinos has brought some relief to forest workers and local people.
