GUWAHATI, April 18 ? The US Fish and Wild Life Service, a leading organisation of United States (US), has decided to sanction $30,000 for conservation of elephants of the State. The funds have been sanctioned for the two project-Kaziranga National Park and Digboi area. The organisation has been extending financial assistance for conservation of wildlife which are facing extinction due to depletion of forest cover.
Highly-placed forest department sources today disclosed that they had submitted two projects to the organisation in view of growing depredation caused by the elephants and it agreed to provide funds. ?The funds will be spent on conservation of habitat of pachyderms in the Kaziranga National Park and forest areas in Digboi,? the sources added. In this context, they revealed that elephant depredation poses a serious problem in Digboi area following shrinking of forest and as a result of which pachyderms have started moving out in search of new habitats. ?To overcome the menace, several foreign agencies have now come forward to help the State Government?, the sources said, adding that the department has also taken up steps to contain the depredation problem by erecting of electric fencing.
Giving more details about the depredation problem, they said that several forest land of the State have been encroached resulting in habitat loss of the pachyderms. ?We have four elephant reserves, but these are facing serious threat due to encroachment and shrinking of forest coverage causing a serious problem for the elephants,? they observed. They further informed that important elephant corridors located along the Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Arunachal border have been affected during the past several years due to rapid deforestation. ?After losing corridors, the pachyderms have started roaming around in quest of their food and shelter?, the sources, said, adding that a concerted effort is a must to conserve the habitat and the corridors of the elephants otherwise the depredation problem may take a serious turn in near future. It may be mentioned that during the last three years over 100 people were killed by the elephants in various places of the State. Worried over growing depredation problem, the forest department has decided to conduct an elephant survey of the State.