The Tripura government has decided to erect electrified barbed wire fencing to prevent tuskers from entering into human habitations.
The chief wildlife warden, AK Gupta, said the Centre had sanctioned Rs 24 lakh to put up the wire fencing and keep the pachyderms confined to their reserves. The electrified wires will not kill or harm the animal or any human being, it will only be used for giving shocks.
Joint forest management committees (JFMCs) and eco-development committees (EDCs) will create awareness among villagers about the need for erecting the fence.
Besides, the forest department has decided to make arrangements for adequate food in the elephant habitats by planting trees in the core areas, Gupta said and added, “If adequate food is arranged for the jumbos, they will not stray away. These measures will reduce man-animal conflict considerably.”
The latest survey by the forest department has revealed that the state has 58 elephants.
The state government has set up an elephant reserve at Gandhari in Gomati district for better conservation of the elephants, whose population is dwindling in the state. The reserve is spread over 123.8 sq km area.
Just over 30 to 40 years ago, elephants had never been spotted in human inhabited areas in Agartala, a forest official said.
The pachyderms started invading human habitations after rampant deforestation for construction of a hydel power project on the Gomati river.
With the loss of their habitat, the elephants started migrating to Bangladesh where forests are abundant. Gupta said a large number of elephants had migrated to Chittagong hill tracts in Bangladesh from the Gomati wildlife sanctuary.