Bablu Das was fishing in the Teesta River on Monday morning, September 21, 2026, when he received a call from the sluice gate operator at the Gajoldoba Teesta Barrage. The operator, Tapan Das, had spotted a four‑day‑old elephant calf floating downstream and had raised the gate to prevent it from hitting the structure.
The calf, separated from its herd by strong currents, floated near the barrage while its mother crossed the river and began a frantic search. Five fishermen—Bablu Das, Ajay, Mithu, Biswanath and Gopal—rowed a dinghy about five kilometres away, using bamboo staves to keep the boat on course. They located the calf, which had pushed its trunk out of the raging water to breathe. A video of the rescue showed a fisherman shouting in Hindi, “Ekdom baccha re! Dhor, dhor, dhor,” as the boat pulled the calf aboard.
Forest officials from the Baikunthapur Forest Division, accompanied by a veterinarian, gathered along the riverbank to prepare for the calf’s reunion with its mother. The team took the calf upstream to the point where it had been separated. Although the mother could not be identified immediately, the plan was to release the calf on a dry stretch of riverbed and wait for the mother to locate her baby.
The calf repeatedly returned to the rescuers, feeling safe, until it began calling for its mother from a distance. The mother responded, emerged from tall grass, and approached the calf, enveloping it with her trunk. Mudit Kumar, the DFO of Baikunthapur Division, called the two‑hour operation a “beautiful story of rescue and reunion” and praised both the fishermen and the forest team.
Back in their village, the five fishermen were hailed as heroes. Their rescue videos had gone viral, prompting local NGOs to felicitate them. Bablu Das, also secretary of the Uttarbanga Matsyajibi Forum, said this was not their first rescue; they had previously helped save elephant calves and deer. He highlighted their limited equipment—no life jackets or large boats—and urged government support for future rescue efforts.
