For a tiny hamlet Borogobal in West Garo Hills district that experienced wild elephant invasion in the past, the solar-powered fence has turned out to be an effective tool in keeping the wild pachyderms at bay.
A 1.2 km single-strand solar-powered fence was installed in the village with 24 households in November 2023 by Aaranyak- British Asian Trust with support from Darwin Initiative to protect the village.
Now, the village is at peace even after dusk as only a small group of women keep a watchful eye on the fence without any hassle and could carry on with their household chores.
Aaranyak publicity secretary Bijay Sankar Bora shared the success of the fence that shields the village. It not only protects the villages but also contributed towards empowerment and confidence building of the women in respect of shouldering social responsibility, he said.
The village had formed the Solar Fence Management Committee and with training on how to manage and operate the fence by a team from Aaranyak, the women help the men folk in keeping the solar-powered fence intact and well maintained.
Bora in a statement said that during an interaction with these women it is learnt that a timely action in switching on the power source of the fence led to saving the life of a villager from threatening wild elephants.
“Today one hardly comes across anyone on the gravel road on a summer afternoon while travelling to this remote and sleepy tribal village. The village women are seen conversing leisurely in the courtyards of their homes while children are enjoying their time playing around. The men folk are apparently taking rest after a hard day’s work on the paddy field since early morning,” the Aaranyak said.
The organisation further said that the villagers know that the fence is fragile and not a permanent solution to the problem of conflict with wild elephants, but as on date it is the only means to keep the village protected from wild elephants.
Earlier, the villagers used to take shelter together in one house every night before the solar-fence was installed to keep the wild elephants away from the village. The situation is different now.
The treasurer of the committee Saima Rabha has been efficiently collecting fence maintenance funds of Rs 50 per household every month and some of the women have even become capable of carrying out minor repairs of the fence when the need arises, the organisation said.
