Guwahati: A total of 239 members of Rapid Response Units (RRUs) in five districts of eastern Assam and the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya have received field gear and first-aid kits from Aaranyak, a leading biodiversity conservation organisation, and the British Asian Trust, with support from the Biodiversity Challenge Fund, UK.
The equipment, which includes raincoats, caps, shoes, and first-aid kits, aims to improve the efficiency of the RRUs during the rainy season in their ongoing efforts to mitigate human-elephant conflicts (HEC) in their respective areas.
“Aaranyak and the British Asian Trust, in their efforts to mitigate HEC, have been working with the local community to empower them. The RRUs are trained to manage HEC alerts and act as early warning units, formed as part of this effort,” said Dr Alolika Sinha, a senior biologist at Aaranyak.
RRUs, comprising volunteers from HEC-affected villages in Assam and Meghalaya’s Garo Hills Region, act as the eyes and ears in the sustained efforts to mitigate HEC, protecting both human and elephant lives, as well as villagers’ livelihoods.
Each RRU is networked through close WhatsApp groups, quickly disseminating messages about the presence of wild elephant herds near human settlements. This allows villagers to take prompt, prescribed actions to avoid direct confrontations with the herds.
On 23 June, Aaranyak organised an outreach event in the HEC-affected village of Borogobal in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Raincoats and first-aid kits were provided to 13 RRU members who attended the event at the Borogobal Village Community Centre. Norway Marak, an RRU member from the village, highlighted the benefits of being trained for HEC mitigation, stating, “We now know that the best way to protect lives and property in our Borogobal village from wild elephant herds is to clear the path for the elephants to move freely, instead of trying to scare them away by bursting firecrackers or lighting fires, which used to enrage the elephants.”
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Additionally, 219 RRU members from six units across five districts—Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Majuli—in eastern Assam received field equipment and first-aid kits from 13 to 26 June, following consultation workshops. Jorhat district has two RRUs, while the other four districts each have one RRU. Each RRU comprises an average of 50 members.
Aaranyak’s team, actively working in the landscape, facilitated the consultation events with the support of volunteer Rakib Ali and Aaranyak’s village champions.
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