Rangia: Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah has announced the deployment of 140 village youths, organised into 14 teams, to help prevent elephant incursions into human settlements in Tamulpur district amid rising human-elephant conflict along the India-Bhutan border.
The teams, to be called ‘Gaj Mitras’, will operate across the Kumarikata, Batabari and Tamulpur forest ranges. Each team will comprise 10 village youths and three Forest Department officials, Baruah said.
“Human-elephant conflict has been reported in Tamulpur and Nalbari districts. So, we held a meeting today and decided on a few measures. In Tamulpur, 14 Gaj Mitra teams will be deployed, with each team comprising 10 village youths. A total of 140 members will be engaged, and each team will also have three Forest Department officials. They will work together with local people to tackle human-elephant conflict,” the minister said.
The announcement followed a high-level meeting chaired by Baruah at the Tamulpur District Commissioner’s office, attended by local MLA and Cabinet Minister Biswajit Daimary.
Human-elephant conflict has intensified across Baksa, Tamulpur and Nalbari districts, with large herds descending from the hills in search of food and entering human settlements.
Baruah said reports of blocked elephant corridors near the Bhutan border had emerged during the meeting. A joint team of the Forest Department and police will inspect the affected areas from November 9 to identify encroachments and other blockages that may be forcing elephants into human settlements.
The minister also announced plans to bring in the Ecological Task Force, comprising former Army personnel, to undertake plantation of elephant-friendly trees across 50 hectares.
“We will bring the Kokrajhar Ecological Task Force here. Initially, we have decided to convert 50 hectares of land into forest cover with trees that can serve as food for elephants,” Baruah said.
He added that another meeting would be held in December to review the measures taken during November and discuss further steps.
On compensation for deaths caused by elephant attacks, Baruah said the state government was considering raising the amount payable to the next of kin from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. He also said efforts were being made to expedite the disbursement of compensation.
On November 4, the Assam government reduced the deadline for paying compensation to the next of kin of people killed in human-elephant conflict incidents from 72 hours to 48 hours. Baruah announced the decision at a meeting at Aranya Bhawan in Guwahati.
The measures come amid a rising death toll from human-elephant conflict in Assam. Available data indicate that 53 people have been killed in such incidents in the state this year, with Tamulpur, Goalpara and Kamrup (Rural) among the worst-affected districts.