Sixty-six families in Lama, Bandarban, who suffered from wild elephant attacks have received government financial aid totalling Tk 21.59 lakh (Tk 2,159,000). The cheques were handed over on Sunday, 4 October, after a discussion meeting organised by Lama Forest Division.
Chief guest Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, chief conservator of forests, said coexistence between people and elephants must be secured so that in future no family has to come for aid after someone is killed by an elephant. Protecting the elephants' natural range and habitat had to go together with effective steps to protect people's lives and property, he said.
Speakers said wild elephants are an important part of Bangladesh's natural biodiversity and that their habitat and movement corridors must be conserved to keep the environment in balance. The Forest Department, the local administration and residents need to work together to prevent deaths and damage to homes and farmland from elephant attacks.
They also called for making local people aware of elephant routes, strengthening early warning of elephants nearby and teaching people how to move away safely when they meet one.
The meeting was chaired by Lama divisional forest officer Mostafizur Rahman, with Chattogram regional conservator of forests Mihir Kumar Dey, Lama upazila nirbahi officer Md Moin Uddin and Lama police station officer-in-charge Muhammad Kaisar Hamid attending.
The report is by Barta24's district correspondent in Bandarban.
Photo: Ayman Nakib Badhan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Barta24
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