Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo on Saturday said the government would soon initiate talks with India under an existing protocol to establish a cross-border corridor for wild elephants roaming the Garo Hills in Sherpur.
Around 130 to 135 wild elephants that came from India's Meghalaya have become stranded in the Garo Hills of Sherpur as border fencing has prevented them from returning to their habitat, he said.
The minister said the government would request the Indian authorities to open gates in the fencing to allow the elephants to return, although previous requests had not received a positive response.
At the same time, initiatives would be taken to develop forest areas in Sherpur into safe habitats for the elephants, he added.
The minister made the remarks while speaking at a discussion on resolving human-elephant conflict and conserving wild elephants at Madhutila Eco Park in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur.
He said the scenic Garo Hills, its wild elephants and the surrounding natural environment would be used to develop the area into a tourism hub. This would create economic opportunities for local people while helping protect elephants and reduce human-elephant conflict, he added.
The Sherpur district administration and the Mymensingh Forest Division organized the discussion with lawmakers from elephant-affected areas, Elephant Response Team (ERT) members, journalists and volunteers involved in elephant conservation. Deputy Commissioner Farida Yesmin chaired the event.
Sherpur-2 lawmaker Engineer Fahim Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Conservator of Forests for the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Region Md Sanaullah Patwari, Central Region Conservator of Forests ASM Zahir Uddin Akon, Mymensingh Divisional Forest Officer Kazi Muhammad Nurul Karim and Police Superintendent AKM Johirul Islam spoke as special guests.
