In Assam’s Goalpara, children give lessons on coexistence with elephants

Children of a government-run school in western Assam's Goalpara district engaged in activities toward mitigating human-elephant conflicts Children of a government-run school in western Assam’s Goalpara district engaged in activities toward mitigating human-elephant conflicts | Photo Credit: Special ArrangementKabita Sutradhar, a Class 4 student of government-run Dorapara Lower Primary School in western Assam’s Goalpara district, has a simple solution to reducing human-elephant conflicts (HECs).

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She says one must first know what the elephant is called in the language or dialect of each community sharing the animal's domain, and then try to understand what these communities think about the elephant and how they read natural signs to anticipate its moves. “The elephant is called hathi, gaja, and oirabat in Assamese and Bengali, miyong in Bodo, mongma in Garo, midar in Hajong, huti in Rabha, jongli in Mishing, and hadi in the Tiwa language,” she said at an event to mark World Environment Day on June 5. The event was organised by the Centre for Microfinance and Livelihood (CML), an initiative of Tata Trusts, working with 159 primary schools in the Balijana Education Block of the Goalpara district.