Overview
- Local fishermen in Jalpaiguri used a small dinghy to pull a four-day-old calf from the fast-flowing Teesta after a barrage sluice gate operator alerted them to the stranded animal.
- Forest Department teams transported the calf upstream to the spot where it had been separated and released it on a dry stretch so the mother could identify and reclaim it.
- The reunion took about two hours and was delayed when hundreds of onlookers gathered on the riverbank, with officials saying the commotion kept the herd hidden at first.
- The fishermen were publicly praised and felicitated as videos went viral, but they said they routinely lack basic safety gear such as life jackets and proper boats.
- Conservation officials and local groups are calling for clearer crowd-control rules at rescues and formal support—training, equipment and coordination—for river communities that often act as first responders.