Human deaths in Assam's Lakhipur human-elephant conflict hotspot drop sharply amid joint mitigation efforts

Human fatalities caused by human-elephant conflict (HEC) have declined significantly in Assam's Lakhipur, a major conflict hotspot along the Assam-Meghalaya border, following sustained mitigation efforts by the Assam Forest Department and biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak.

According to official data, human deaths due to HEC in Lakhipur dropped from 19 in 2022 to just two in 2025, reflecting the impact of coordinated conservation and conflict mitigation measures.

Lakhipur Range Officer Moupran Gayon said interventions such as solar-powered fences, solar street lights in vulnerable villages, and rechargeable torchlights provided to volunteers have helped minimise direct encounters between people and wild elephants.

So far, around 47 kilometres of solar-powered fencing have been installed across 18 human-elephant conflict-prone villages, benefiting nearly 1,440 households.

The initiative has also been strengthened by the efforts of 70 Elephant Conservation Network (ECN) volunteers and 40 Gaja Mitras, who work closely with Forest Department personnel. The ECN uses WhatsApp-based early warning systems to alert nearby villages whenever elephant movement is detected.

During a review meeting held on June 29, Lakhipur Circle Officer Sailen Dutta Das urged various government departments, including agriculture, health, police, veterinary, education and disaster management, to contribute actively towards sustaining the decline in HEC-related deaths.

Representatives of the concerned departments assured full cooperation, while Aaranyak's Head of the Elephant Research and Conservation Division, Dr. Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, presented strategies for strengthening interdepartmental coordination to promote peaceful human-elephant coexistence.