GUWAHATI: Sixty-four villagers, including 28 women, impacted by human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Baksa and Tamulpur districts of Assam, attended two workshops on first-aid recently.
These training workshops, conducted in HEC-affected Madhupur and Sonmoni, are a part of biodiversity conservation organisation, Aaranyak’s ongoing efforts to promote human-elephant coexistence in the state.
During the training, local indigenous residents were taught life-saving skills and prepared to handle medical emergencies arising from human-elephant conflicts.
These capacity-building workshops are a part of Aaranyak’s broader initiative to foster human-elephant coexistence with support from the SBI Foundation.
A total of 28 women and 36 men actively participated in these sessions, demonstrating the community’s enthusiastic response and commitment to building resilience.
“These workshops were particularly crucial due to the remote nature of these villages, which often lack access to medical facilities and emergency services, and are also prone to negative human-elephant interactions,” stated a statement issued by Aaranyak.
By imparting practical first-aid skills, the workshops aimed to minimise the impact of such incidents and enhance the safety of local residents while promoting coexistence between elephants and communities.
The workshops were conducted in collaboration with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Baksa.
The event was facilitated by dedicated AAPDA Mitras from DDMA, including Dalim Kalita, Nabajyoti Talukdar, Ritupan Kalita, and Sunjil Daimary, along with Aaranyak’s Abhijit Saikia, Jiban Chetry, Jauga Basumatary, and Pradip Barman.
Training on providing first aid in human-elephant conflict areas enhances community resilience and well-being, reduces fear, and fosters empathy, thereby promoting coexistence by empowering locals to respond effectively and compassionately to elephant encounters.
