GUWAHATI: According to Chandra Mohan Patowary, the state's forest minister, the confrontation between humans and elephants in Assam results in an average annual death toll of more than 70 people and 80 pachyderms.
He stated in the Assembly that the state government has compensated the pachyderms' damages to the tune of roughly Rs 8–9 crore.
In response to a query from Congressman Rekibuddin Ahmed, Patowary stated that as more and more people occupy the elephants' native habitats, the animals are compelled to leave their normal habitats in search of food, which results in conflict with people.
He claimed that during their regular movement procedure, they also come into conflict with others. As a result and in addition to causing property damage, more than 70 people and 80 elephants are killed on average annually, the ministry stated.
According to him, there are currently more than 5,700 elephants living in the state.
According to the ministry, 1,330 elephants have perished between 2001 and 2022, with the year 2013 seeing the most deaths with 107 pachyderms, followed by 2016 with 97, and 2014 with 92.
Among the many causes of death, 509 were due to natural causes, 261 to undetermined causes, 202 were electrocuted, 102 perished in train accidents, 65 were poisoned, 40 were taken as hostages, and 18 were struck by lightning.
Providing details on the river dolphin, which was named the state aquatic mammal in 2008, Patowary stated that as of 2020, the most recent statistics available, there were 537 river dolphins in the state.
Between 2008 and 2023, 80 river dolphins perished, 60 of which were caught in fishing nets.
The minister also informed the House that, according to the Forest Survey of India's 2021 report, the state's total forest land area is 26,836 square kilometers, or 34.21% of its overall area. He noted that thus far, 14,373.913 hectares of encroaching woodland have been cleared.
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