-Avik Chakraborty
Dibrugarh, Feb 9: The 15-km solar panel fencing in Assam’s Dibrugarh district has been set up to prevent elephant depredation into the villages.
The solar fencing has been installed from Nagaghat water tank to Bongaon forest village under Joypur Reseve Forest in Dehing Patkai National Park. The solar fencing was inaugurated on June 12, 2023, under the District Mineral Foundation Scheme Trust, Dibrugarh District, for FY 2023–24 with Rs 22 lakh.
The Dibrugarh Forest Division has taken these measures to control the man-human conflict in the area.
Dilip Gogoi, resident of Kacharipathar village, said, “Earlier, elephant depredation was a major issue in our village, and every year our crops were damaged by the herd of elephants that came out of the Joypur reserve forest, but after the installation of the solar fencing, elephants didn’t enter our villages. Now, our crops are safe, and no elephants come to our paddy field.”
“Before the installation of solar fencing, elephant herds regularly entered our village and damaged our crops, and we used crackers and fire to drive the elephants. The villagers had set up tongi ghar( watchmen shed) to save their paddy from the elephants, but no such thing has been required to drive away the elephants because the elephants didn’t enter the village,” Gogoi said.
Lucky Dutta, range officer at Joypur Forest Range, said, “The solar fencing has a 100 percent success ratio. After the installation of the solar fencing panel, no elephants have been seen entering the village. Earlier, human-elephant conflict was a regular scenario in the villages, but now it has been controlled after the solar fencing.”.
“Now, we are planning to install the solar fencing at Namsang, where a population of humans resides. We are thinking of circling the village with a solar fence to control elephant depredation. We also don’t want to disturb the movements of elephants,” Dutta said.
The Dihing Patkai National Park, which falls under the Jeypore range and Soraipung range of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, covers an area of 234,26 sq km.
Known all over for its rainforest and the last remaining stretches of Assam Valley Tropical West Evergreen Forests, the park is home to elephants, hoolick gibbons, golden cats, clouded leopards, and other animals.
To date, 47 mammal species, 47 reptile species, and 310 butterfly species have been recorded.
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