In a bid to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Korba district, Forest and Climate Change Department, Government of Chhattisgarh is taking out ‘Gaj Yatra’ in elephant affected villages of Katghora forest division. Korba Lok Sabha Member Jyotsana Mahant flagged-off ‘Gaj Yatra’ chariot from Buka Tourism Centre of Aitmanagar forest range under Katghora forest division in Korba district. The Gaj Yatra is being taken out as part of National Wildlife. Speaking on the occasion, MP Jyotsana Mahant said that the State government has launched various welfare schemes for the people of the state. She further said that Chhattisgarh government is with the villagers of elephant affected villages in every situation to overcome their problems. Katghora MLA Mohit Ram Kerketta, Pali Tanakhar MLA Harish Parsai, Member of State Food Commission Ashraf Memon and Manoj Chauhan also addressed the programme. In his address, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Katghora Kumar Nishant said that the Gaj Yatra, which is an awareness programme, is being taken out in Katghora forest division as part of the National Wildlife Week to make people aware about how to mitigate humanelephant conflict.

 

It was told in the program that companionship is necessary for every living creature in nature. Therefore, people should impart their responsibilities in conservation of wildlife. He told that Gaj Yatra is being taken out in the elephant affected areas of the entire Katghora forest division and make the villagers aware about elephant protection through films, folk songs and projectors. The Gaj Yatra chariot is visiting market places and schools to make people aware, so that human-elephant conflict can be reduced. The villagers has appreciated the campaign being run by the Forest and Climate Change Department to create awareness in all the elephant affected villages through the Gaj Yatra chariot. Folk artists performed and enthralled the audience through their exciting performances. It may be mentioned that under the guidance of Forest and Climate Change Minister Mohammad Akbar and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Forces) V Sreenivasa Rao, the Department is continuously running a public awareness campaign to mitigate human-elephant conflict. Sub Divisional Officer (Forest) Chandrakant Tikariya, SDO Dashansh Prakash Suryavanshi, Range Officer Aitmanagar Devdutt Khande, Sarpanch Usha Tiwari and other public representatives and villagers in large number were present on the occasion.