A team of Aaranyak has extended support to Meghalaya Forest Department to conduct outreach events to generate awareness on Asian Elephants for the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the Indo- Bangladesh border in the Garo Hills region.
The BSF personnel guarding the country’s frontier with Bangladesh in that region often encounter the gentle giants (Asian elephants) which are sometimes in conflict with human beings living in the region.
A resource team from Aaranyak extended the support to the department and conducted the sensitisation event yesterday for the 1st Battalion of the BSF based at Mahadeo in South Garo Hills of Meghalaya.
Aaranyak official Abhijit Boruah delivered a lecture on ‘Encountering the giants: understanding elephant behaviours’, while another official Anushka Saikia spoke on ‘From human-elephant conflict to coexistence’.
The Deputy Commandant of the BSF battalion, Sanjay Singh along with 35 jawans participated in the awareness programme. Forest Range Officer from Baghmara, Chinchin Sangma and Officer in-charge of Siju Wildlife Sanctuary, Skilson D. Marak along with 17 forest frontline staff were also present during the event.
“Aaranyak with support from USFWS has been working in Assam and Meghalaya on conservation of elephants using a multi stakeholder and multipronged approach. The sensitisation programmes are part of a holistic elephant conservation initiative,” said conservation scientist Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar of Aaranyak.
Earlier, on January 22 another a similar sensitisation workshop was conducted for the 50th Battalion of the BSF in South West Garo Hills district.
The next sensitisation workshop is scheduled for February 19 for the BSF in East and West Garo Hills.
