GUWAHATI: President Droupadi Murmu awarded the Padma Shri to Parbati Barua from Assam on Thursday in New Delhi.
Parbati Barua received the award for her outstanding work in social work, especially for her pioneering work in elephant conservation and wildlife management. The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
Barua, from Assam's Gauripur royal family, became India's first female elephant mahout and a strong supporter of animal welfare.
Born on March 14, 1953, she showed a deep love for elephants and the wilderness from a young age. She broke traditional gender roles by entering a field that was mostly for men.
Parbati started her journey at 14 by taming her first elephant in the Kachugaon forests of Kokrajhar district. She has since tamed over 500 elephants, using traditional methods like "Mela Shikar" to capture wild elephants without tranquilizer guns.
Apart from her success in taming elephants, Barua has played a crucial role in reducing human-elephant conflicts in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
She has worked closely with forest officials to provide herbal treatments and training to mahouts and field staff, which has greatly helped in resolving wildlife-related issues.
Barua has made a global impact through her involvement in international workshops and seminars dedicated to elephant conservation.
She represented India at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) workshop on the domesticated Asian elephant in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2001.
Her dedication has earned her several awards, including the 'Asom Gaurav Award 2023' and the United Nations Environment Programme's 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' in 1989.
In 2003, the Assam government recognized Barua's lifelong dedication to elephant welfare by naming her the 'Honorary Chief Elephant Warden of Assam.'
Barua's documentary 'Aparajita 2023' has also earned her recognition. She received the 'Nature's Warrior' jury award at the Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival for this film.
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