Assam: HaatiApp launched to reduce human-elephant conflict

Extending support from the state government, Nandita Gorlosa, cabinet minister, said this would help multi-stakeholders in the mitigation of human-elephant conflict (HEC) for the sake of coexistence

Silchar: Aaranyak, an NGO based in Guwahati, launched a mobile application, HaatiApp, with the aim to reduce the human-elephant conflict in Assam and surrounding states.

(X/@aaranyak)

The app was launched on Saturday evening and was inaugurated by Nandita Gorlosa, cabinet minister for power, sports & youth welfare.

Extending support from the state government, Gorlosa said this would help multi-stakeholders in the mitigation of human-elephant conflict (HEC) for the sake of coexistence.

Bibhuti P Lahkar, who heads the Elephant Research and Conservation Division (ERCD) of Aaranyak, said that this application will create a bridge between government departments and the common people.

“We have to make people aware of it. Once they install the app on their phones, they’ll have access to a large contact, and whenever they see elephants in their area, they can update the forest department about it quickly. This will help the people to be aware and the officials to take immediate action,” he said.

Along with the HaatiApp, a comprehensive Solar Fence Manual in Assamese was also launched by the minister during an event in Guwahati.

Baruah said that the Asian elephants in northeast India are facing a myriad of problems, including rapidly shrinking habitats because of expanding human settlements.

“We must learn how to coexist. The HaatiApp and the solar fence manual are expected to facilitate it,” she said.

Sharma raised concerns about the illegal use of electricity to deter elephants, which poses a significant risk to both humans and elephants. He also requested the state power minister to take proactive steps to prevent the electrocution deaths of wild elephants.

Garlosa said that the State Power Department would launch an awareness drive among the grassroots people to prevent electrocution of wild elephants through the use of illegal power connections.

“The common people in some of the HEC hotspots use illegal electric power connections against wild elephants out of fear, which sometimes leads to the death of elephants….With the help of these two techniques, we can reduce such incidents”, she said.

Garlosa further said that steps will be taken by the state’s power department to reach out to the common people of those HEC-affected areas to raise awareness against the use of such illegal electric connections against wild elephants.

The human-animal conflict has seen a rise in recent years. According to the Assam government, illegal encroachment on forest land is one of the biggest reasons for the conflict.

However, in several cases, the victims claimed that they were trying to maintain coexistence, but elephants attacked their houses in search of food. They said that there was no other option to prevent it except using electricity.