Rice distributed to families affected by human-elephant conflicts in Arunachal

Itanagar, Nov 18 (PTI) Pakke Tiger Reserve Foundation (PTRF) in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) on Friday distributed rice to 69 families which were affected by human-elephant conflicts in Pakke Kessang district of Arunachal Pradesh this year.

As many as 69 quintals of rice were distributed to the families at Seijosa, located close to the Pakke Tiger Reserve in the district, an official of WTI informed.

The distribution was carried out as part of the ‘Grain-for-Grain’ initiative for 2022-23, Panjit Basumatary, manager of the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) under WTI, said.

Local MLA Biyuram Wahge, who is also the president of state BJP unit, distributed the rice in presence of Pakke Kessang deputy commissioner Tayek Pado, divisional forest officer Satyaprakash Singh and range forest officer of Seijosa Rubo Tado.

WTI's wild aid program facilitated the distribution of grains with support from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

India has around 101 government notified elephant corridors and over 400 human lives are lost due to conflicts with the gentle giants annually, while around 100 jumbos are killed in response, Basumatary said.

WTI developed the ‘Grain-for-Grain’ scheme with the aim to provide assistance to farmers and reducing instances of retaliations against elephants.

'Individuals living near Pakke Tiger Reserve are greatly impacted by issues of wildlife crop depredation. The initiative was part of a study funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service introduced in the reserve in 2005,' Basumatary said. PTI UPL UPL MNB