To take stock of the human-elephant conflict, the state forest officials visited the elephant affected areas in Wokha district on September 19 & 20 and met the affected communities of the area.
According to DIPR bulletin, the commissioner and secretary (C&S) environment, forest and climate change, Y. Kikheto Sema, accompanied by PCCF and the chief wildlife warden, Vedpal Singh along with Pangloi, PA to forest minister, DFO Wokha forest division Suman WM Sivachar, Wildlife Warden, Dimapur, Tokaho Kinimi, representative officers from Wokha administration and Wokha police of respective jurisdictions and GIS team visited Mekokla village on September 19 and had a detailed interaction with the Village elders and leaders.
On September 20 morning, the team had a meeting with Englan Range Village Council Union at Doyang Hydro. Thereafter, the team met Yanmhon area public organisation and visited recent affected areas at Liphi and Hayiyan villages. GIS team took drone images of the affected areas to collect additional data from such areas.
Finally, the team had a detailed interaction with the affected villages, community elders of more than 20 villages from Sanis and Bhandari sub-division in presence of Lotha Hoho at Town Community Hall, Bhandari.
At the meeting, C&S, Kikheto Sema informed the community elders and leaders that the department would work out a policy and strategy wherein people could co-exist with wild animals and human–animal conflicts were mitigated.
Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the department staff, Sema informed that the department would review the manpower and resources with logistics so the forest staff were also well trained and well equipped to tackle any emergency and exigencies.
Understanding the needs, the forest department recently posted one assistant conservator of forest (ACF) to Baghty forest range. On the shortage of staff, he said the department would work out depute and staff from other divisions to areas where there was shortage.
C&S also appealed to the community leaders to share their problems and experience so they could all can sit together and formulate strategy and action plans to reduce the man-elephant conflicts.
With regard to compensation related applications, he assured that the applications would be forwarded to appropriate authorities for consideration. The department would also make a comprehensive plan to tackle human-elephant conflict mitigation in the State, with special reference to Wokha and neighbouring districts.
TWC & A-HCCS appeals dist amin, forest deptt
Tiyi Wildlife Conservation and Animal-Human Conflict Control Society (TWC & A-HCCS) has appealed to the district administration and the department to constitute a team to mitigate the present animal-human conflict in wokha.
In a statement, TWC & A-HCCS convenor Khyolamo Humtsoe and general secretary Zujanbemo Kithan stated that there were reports of crops and property damage on the night of September 19, 2023. It stated herd of elephants entered paddy fields in the vicinity of Nrung Longidang village and left a devastating loss.
TWC & A-HCCS has sought the intervention of the state government to stop further damage and rescue the farmers, who were at the mercy of wild pachyderms with effective deterrents and preventive measures. TWC & A-HCCS urged the department to visit the conflict zone and depute forest officials to assist the aggrieved villagers in handling the situations promptly and assess the loss first hand.
NRSU appeals forest deptt
Acknowledging the efforts of forest department to tackle the menace of wild jumbo in Lotha areas, the Nyiro Range Students’ Union (NRSU) has appealed to the department to prepare SOPs and mitigation strategies to address the problem proactively to avoid human-animal causalities.
In a press release, NRSU president Zuchanthung C Kikon stated that in recent years there had been an invasion by herds of wild elephant in the stretch of Doyang river of Nrung Longidang and its adjacent villages. NRSU said that marauding elephants have now subjugated those areas not only posing a grave threat to the life of humans but also causing a great damage to their paddy field and plantations.
Further, the union stated that recently there were reports of paddy field being destroyed and field huts being flattened to the ground at Niroyo and Nrung Longidang. It said that those herds of elephants were sighted at Nrung Longidang, Longla, Niroyo and a few wanders around the vicinity of Nyiro.
NRSU, on behalf of Nyiro range community, has therefore, appealed the department not to hone in on a few areas but to send experts and staff to study the reality and take ground reports.