Human-animal conflict mitigation awareness campaign was organised by forest department on June 17 at the council hall of Mangmetong village under Mokokchung district. The campaign was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change, Government of India, New Delhi.
The campaign was attended by 150 representatives from the district Administration, Agri and allied departments, chairmen/members of village councils of the villages affected with human-elephant conflict from Mokokchung and Zunheboto districts.
In the programme, chief guest, principal chief conservator of Forests & head of Forests Force, Nagaland, I. Panger, deliberated on intrinsic relationship between human beings and animals by quoting script from the Bible. He stated that human life was not possible without wild animal.
The principal chief conservator also briefed the causes of human-animal conflict and appealed the participants to protect wildlife for survival.
Guest of honour, deputy commissioner Mokokchung, Sushil Kumar Patel, appreciated the forest department for organising the programme involving communities affected with human-animal conflict.
He asked the forest department to establish mechanism so that people could contact the forest department immediately after incidence of human- animal conflict for appropriated action.
The DC also briefed how compensation was paid for such incidence by the District Disaster Management Authority, Mokokchung.
He appealed the people to insure their crops/ domestic animals for getting compensation under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme by paying premium.
Chief wildlife warden, Satya Prakash Tripathi, in his key note address, stated the genesis of the human elephant conflict prevalent in the state in general and in Mokokchung district in particular.
He appealed to the people for protection of forest and wildlife and contact forest officials immediately in case of damage of their crop/ properties/ human life.
CCF (EBR), Supongnukshi, spoke on existing traditional routes for movement of elephants and possibility of translocation of the wild elephants.
Sunep Imchen, an officer from Veterinary and Husbandry department Mokokchung, appealed the affected people to have solution of the problem by unconditionally giving their land for opening the blocked elephant corridors for movement of elephants between Assam and Nagaland.
He requested the wildlife wing of the forest department for publication of elephant repellent activities in local dialect for affected people.
Demonstration on elephant repellent by the officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Unit, Wildlife Division, Dimapur was also conducted.
The programme was chaired by Y. M. Jami, conservator of Forests (NTC), Mokokchung and director, Intanki National Park, Dimapur, invocation by home evangelist Mangmetong village, S. Bendang while welcome address was delivered by wildlife warden Dimapur, K. Caroline Angami and vote of thanks by ACF, Mokokchung, Imkumba Longkumar.
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