Modified Tongis With powerful Torchlights tackling issue in KNP

MAN-PACHYDERM CONFLICTS

A CORRESPONDENT

NUMALIGARH: As the rice saplings are getting firm footing and young pods have started appearing, some of the villagers near Kaziranga have been witnessing fresh arrival of pachyderms in their fields at nights. For the villages around the eastern range and central ranges of Kaziranga, crop-raiding is no longer a seasonal phenomenon of winter months alone. As more and more farmers practice second rice crop, the nature of crop raiding is also changing in the recent times.

The local communities guard their crops using local appliances stationed at lookout points locally called ‘Tongi’ or ‘Chang ghars’, usually atop trees in their paddy fields. A wildlife conservation organisation, The Corbett Foundation (TCF) has stepped up its efforts to mitigate the human-elephant conflicts in the villages around Kaziranga. TCF, with support from Hem Chand Mahindra Foundation, has experimented with strategic placements of the ‘tongis’ and equipping thee man-made treetop structures with powerful torchlights. Its efforts have shown substantial successes in reducing crop loss owing to rampages from pachyderms. The core ideas are not only to avoid close contact with elephants but also discourage practices which risk the elephants.

TCF team has put emphasis on setting up of bigger ‘tongis’ involving five to six different families so that crop guarding could be done on a rotation basis. Thus, each person gets sufficient physical and mental rest during the cropping season.

In the project, TCF has provided galvanized iron sheets and other raw materials while the villagers have contributed bamboo and free labour for the construction of these ‘tongis’. As villagers personally contributed to the ‘tongi’ by means of providing raw material (bamboo) and physical labour, they now own the project and have a sense of need to maintain the ‘tongi’ and its materials. Each ‘tongi’ has also been provided with a powerful torch. As each ‘tongi’ involves members from five or more families, it also enhances the bonding among the villagers. The community members are free to shift the ‘tongis’ as per their need in consultation with TCF team for better crop guarding in different seasons.

Till the last year, TCF had built 122 ‘tongis’ in 12 villages adjoining the Kaziranga National Park (KNP). A total of 50 new ‘tongis’ are being added this year at the requests of the villagers. It is estimated that with 122 ‘tongis’, TCF is supporting crop guarding on about 1,400 acres of agriculture land with possible yield of approximately 9,000 quintals for grains. The benefit spreads out to nearly 800 families trying to coexist with wildlife. It is expected that successful crop guarding with this initiative will also help the farmers economically and socially to a great extent. In the last four years since running this project, there has been a decline in the crop loss due to depredation by wild pachyderms in the project area.

“As the habitat for most of the species is shrinking, we can expect an escalation in human-wildlife conflict incidents. The future conservation of all wildlife will depend on how effectively the conflict is being addressed and attended to. The community’s engagement in conservation of the wild can be assured if we join hands with them in mitigating the conflict situations,” said TCF Deputy Director Dr Naveen Pandey.

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