Now, ‘Gaj Mitra' to guard villagers against jumbos
They will handle and mitigate conflict between humans and elephants, just as 'baagh mitras' do in Dudhwa, Pilibhit and Amangarh tiger reserves. Project Tiger UP APCCF Lalit Kumar Verma, said, "After baagh mitras proved to be of great help in tiger reserves we trained gaj mitras in areas with high elephant movement."
Bagh mitra was launched in 2020 as the reserve experienced high incidence of human-animal conflict.
It is now a force of 300 men and women. Need for Gaj mitras was felt in Bijnor because of human-elephant conflicts.
"With 300 villages on the fringes of the three tiger reserves, we required at least one person in every village as baagh mitra. We will make similar assessment for gaj mitra," said the official.
Gaj mitra volunteers will not be paid by forest department so as not to dilute the purpose, but they will be provided training and resources.
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Their primary role will be to report any movement of elephants in the area, acting as "first informers". Bagh mitras ascertain pugmarks to identify the animal—tiger, leopard, hyena, wolf, or any other. Gaj mitra may not have to identify pugmarks and will only study which direction the herd is moving in.
They will act as a bridge between villagers and forest department during rescue operations, to avoid any conflict between humans and animals.
Age is no barrier to working as any 'mitra' of wildlife, the person only needs to be alert and agile. Since these volunteers will have first-point contact with villagers, their role becomes important.
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