Guwahati: Alarmed over growing incidents of man-elephant conflicts, Assam forest department has decided to form a team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) in each forest division.
Pointing out that 359 people died in the man-elephant conflicts in the past four years, Assam forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that during the same period, around 1,169 incidents of man-elephant conflicts were reported.
Informing that the RAF teams will be equipped with arms and other equipment to tackle the situation, the forest minister said, “Man-animal conflict is now becoming a common phenomenon in Assam and the north-eastern region.” Suklabaidya said, “In Assam, 91 people died due to man-elephant conflict in 2016, 83 died in 2017, 98 in 2018 and 87 died this year so far.”
He said, “The entire process will be completed within a week. We will try to deploy at least one Rapid Action Force team in each place.”
