GUWAHATI: In an endeavour to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC) and promote coexistence, a 2.3-km-long solar-powered electric fence was installed to restrict the movement of wild elephants in the Padumphula area of Tinsukia district.
The Padumphula area, predominantly inhabited by indigenous communities and farmers, has been a hotspot for HEC within Sadiya, Tinsukia district.
Farmers in the area have struggled to protect their crops from depredation by wild elephants year after year.
Following a field study on the HEC problem and its impact on the local population, Aaranyak initiated efforts to mitigate the issue by installing the single-strand community-managed seasonal solar fence on the periphery of vegetable crop fields in Padumphula.
Approximately 385 households in Padumphula, Bacha Gaon No.1, Bacha Gaon No. 2, and Na-Basa Gaon are expected to benefit from the solar fence in terms of crop security.
This initiative, undertaken by Aaranyak in collaboration with the British Asian Trust and supported by the Darwin Initiative (Biodiversity Challenge Funds), involved training the Padumphula community to build their capacity for installing and maintaining the solar fence. The training took place several months ago at the community cultural centre in Padumphula.
Following the training, local community members participated in installing the 2.3 km-long solar fence to protect their vegetable fields under the technical guidance and supervision of the Aaranyak team.
The installation work was completed on April 5.
The Aaranyak team, led by Rubul Tanti and including members such as Dibakar Nayak, Tonmoy Gogoi, Debojit Gogoi, and village champion Debananda Gogoi, played a crucial role in the successful implementation of this project.
