Assam: Forest department conducts awareness meeting on man-elephant conflict mitigation in Boko

In an effort to mitigate the ongoing issue of man-elephant conflict, the Kamrup West Division Forest Office, in collaboration with the Bondapara forest range and World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature, India, organized an awareness meeting at Singra-Palahpara Cultural Stage under the Singra forest range on Saturday.

The meeting was funded by the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and was presided over by the Kamrup West Division DFO Dimpy Bora. The Boko Constituency MLA Nandita Das was present as the chief guest, and WWF officials Hiten Baishya and David Smith were the resource persons.

Over 30 village headmen took part in the awareness meet under the Singra and Bondapara Range. The main motive of the meeting was to decrease man-elephant conflicts and find solutions to decrease them.

During the meeting, WWF official Hiten Baishya requested the village headmen to observe why elephants entered their villages and find solutions accordingly. Baishya suggested that if villagers started a lemon garden, which elephants dislike, they would leave the place permanently. He also advised villagers to make a paste of chili powder, burn it on mobile phones, and then burn it to create a smell that elephants would avoid if they knew a herd was going to enter the village.

DFO Dimpy Bora requested all village headmen to look into the matter of encroachment in reserve forest areas, which had led people to create banana, pineapple, battle nut gardens, and paddy fields, thus damaging the elephants' natural paths and foods. Bora added that like humans, elephants get angry and aggressive when their paths or foods are damaged, and that people need to understand and respect their natural habitats.

"To control the man and elephant conflicts, the forest department has already made 17 Anti-Depredation Squads and One central squad in our West Kamrup Divisional jurisdiction," added DFO Dimpy Bora.

MLA Nandita Das also spoke at the meeting, requesting villagers not to disturb the elephants unnecessarily. She emphasized that elephants are peaceful and intelligent animals, and they understand where to go and where they came from. When people obstruct their paths, they have no choice but to attack, resulting in both human and elephant deaths. She advised villagers to stay calm and give elephants a path to leave the village with minimal damage.

During the awareness meeting, DFO Dimpy Bora and MLA Nandita Das distributed high-capacity torch lights and firecrackers to the 31 village headmen under the Singra and Bondapara Range office.

WWF Official David Smith warned against using electric fencing to save gardens or cultivations from elephants, which sometimes result in electrocution of both animals and humans. Instead, he advised people to use solar-powered fencing after obtaining permission from the forest department.

The meeting concluded with an appreciation speech by Alok Deb Nath, ACF, in-charge of Singra Forest Range. Nath shared his experience of giving elephants space and prayers, which resulted in them leaving the area without any disturbance.