Lucky save from elephants !

Often night guards in Dooars tea garden face life threatening

situations. Recently such an incident happened when three

guards were watering tea bushes. They finished the job around

midnight and decided to rest on the tent pitched at one end of

the tea estate. There was a gorge nearby through which a stream

passed. Two of the guards were asleep while the third was still

awake. Suddenly Jivan (the 3rd guard) heard the sound of twigs

and branches being broken by an approaching elephant herd. He

quickly alerted the others and soon realized that they were in

between the herd and the deep gorge. At first thought they

decided to dodge the elephants but later found it to be too risky.

There was every chance that they might be flung aside and

trampled upon by the herd.

Luckily they had a long rope in the tent which they tied to a

bunch of bamboos. The three of them-one after the other-held

the rope (their only hope) and dangled as quietly as possible.

They could feel three/four elephants standing on the edge. They

shrieked at regular intervals and sprinkled mud at the guards.

While searching for food the other elephants  ransacked their

tent and belongings. All the while there was a tremendous and

unnerving commotion going along. Finally around two hours

later the herd decided to call it a day and left!