Kaziranga, Assam : Three watchtowers have been constructed in Lokhowjan, Rajabari and Borsapori in Assam to help the local farmers ward away the wild elephants from the nearby Kaziranga National Park. Wild elephants have been raiding their crops and causing damage to property. The elephants have been known to be taking shelter in neighbouring tea estates during the day, and raiding the paddy fields at night.

These frequent raids by elephants have angered the villagers who have resorted to attacking these elephants with spears and crude arms. Lack of compensation for the damage to their crop and property has led the villagers to retaliate by  attacking the elephants.

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with the help of the Assam Forest Department initiated a Rapid Action Project  (RAP) involving the use of systematic scientific methods to minimise the conflicts between humans and elephants. The watchtowers were constructed as an ‘Early Warning Detection System’. It was inaugurated by the forest department staff on October 2, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, in the presence of the beneficiaries. Since the inauguration, the local people have been sitting sentry on these watchtowers to warn the others of the wild visitors.

Use of deterrents such as ‘chili bombs’ and fire crackers, when necessary, have also been propagated to scare away the elephants. The watchtowers are also being used to monitor the animals, collect data on their activities and herd size for research purposes.

Human-Elephant conflicts occur as a result of both depredations of farm lands as well as the property damage caused by their movement. Observations in Kaziranga National Park , indicate that the crop raids are more frequent between September and December, while the damages to property are more common between November and March. Nearly 174 hectares (about 42 tons) of crops were damaged in Lokhowjan, Rajabari and Borsapori in 2006. The construction of these watchtowers is expected to reduce the damage to both the humans and the elephants. Dilip Deori of the WTI is monitoring the efficiency of these techniques in reducing the intensity of such conflicts.

Photo credits :Dilip Deori / WTI