Image: Northeast Now

In a bid to provide succour to the kith and kin of man-elephant conflict victims of Assam, a total of 118 beneficiaries were ceremoniously handed over an amount of Rs 43,73,000 in Udalguri.

The ex-gratia amount was handed over by state minister of public health and engineering, Rihon Daimari at Paneri Forest Beat Office premises in the district on Monday.

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The beneficiaries include kith and kin of those who have lost lives, injured in man-elephant conflict including attack by other wild animals and also those whose crops and houses were raided and damaged by wild elephants.

โ€œAwareness and alertness are two keys to mitigate the menace of man-elephant conflict. The border populace must prepare themselves to tackle the menace,โ€ said Daimari.

โ€œHuman-elephant conflict is one of the issues faced by the Indo-Bhutan border villages of Udalguri, thereโ€™s obviously no quick fix solution and rapid afforestation and eviction of encroached forest land which are a part of age old elephant corridors is the call of the hour,โ€ said Divisional Forest Officer of Dhansiri Range,Udalguri,Madhurya Kumar Sarma.

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โ€œThe ex-gratia compensation is just a โ€˜bandage solutionโ€™, but we believe that this will help out these families during their hour of need,โ€ he said.

The meet attended by nearly 300 citizens  was also graced by Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), MCLA, Suresh Tanti; Ripen Daimari; Nonai Forest Ranger,Satya Boro among others.

Shajid Khan is Northeast Now Correspondent in Udalguri. He can be reached at: [email protected]