In a bid to mitigate human-elephant conflicts, villagers in Assam’s Nagaon have created a ‘food zone’ for wild elephants so they don’t stray to nearby villages in search of food.

"In the forest reserve areas of Bamuni, Rongtong and Karbi anglong, nature lover Binod Dulu Bora and hundreds of villagers in the area cultivated grass and fodder for elephants on 400 bighas of barren land," said Bhaskar Deka, Divisional Forest Officer, Nagaon.

He informed that the plantation has been done in an area from where elephants usually used to enter the villages in search of food.

"After the plantation, a low number of wild elephants are coming in rural areas, around 40 per cent of elephant population entering villages have been controlled," he said.

Binod Dulu Bora, who is a nature love himself, is playing a pivotal role in the plantation drive. He said that it is a major relief as this drive has saved the paddy harvest of the villagers.