Tripura to tag wild elephant with radio collar in Khowai district

On January 29, a group of tribal people led by the Tipra Motha blocked National Highway-8 at Mungiakami seeking protection from frequent wild elephant attacks.

tripura wild elephant radio collar tagging

The DM of Khowai district said that an eight-member district-level team has been formed to decide on the compensation to be given to residents whose properties have been recently damaged in elephant attacks. (File)

The forest department has decided to tag a wild elephant with a radio collar in Tripura’s Khowai district by the end of this month. The elephant to be radio-collared was involved in several attacks in residential areas in the recent past.

Sharing the news, Khowai District Magistrate Chandni Chandran said, “We have discussed what kind of help can be provided from the side of the administration and public representatives. The discussion was fruitful. The forest department has thought of new techniques to tackle elephants. It will tag Moti (the elephant) with a radio collar so that we get to know about his movements and push it back before it enters any village. The forest department has got a series of steps lined up to handle the situation…”

She added that solar fences can be installed and specific odours can also be used to reduce man-animal conflict.

The DM also informed that an eight-member district-level team has been formed to decide on the compensation to be given to residents whose properties have been recently damaged in elephant attacks.

“…some claims for compensation for damage (property/life/agriculture) created by wild elephants remain pending. Hence, a district level committee is hereby made to look into such claims. The committee will have sittings (one each) in both block offices of Teliamura & Mungiakami on two specific days. All aggrieved may visit the block office for solution,” reads an order issued by the Khowai district administration.

On January 29, a group of tribal people led by the Tipra Motha blocked National Highway-8 at Mungiakami seeking protection from frequent wild elephant attacks, among other demands.

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