TTT NEWS NETWORK
MALLABARI | 2 JULY 2026
A high-level cross-border meeting on Indo-Nepal Cooperation in Mitigating Human-Elephant Conflicts was held at the Dhimal Cultural Centre and Community Hall, Mallabari, Naxalbari, on the Indian side of the Indo-Nepal border.
The meeting was presided over by Garjan Kumar Mallick and attended by 24 members from Nepal and India, including representatives of Forest Departments, Armed Forces, Civil Administration, NGOs, elected representatives, and press media.
Key Deliberations: The Nepalese delegation raised serious concern over increasing elephant movement into the Bahundangi area of Mechinagar, resulting in loss of human lives, extensive crop damage, and destruction of property. The Hon’ble Mayor of Mechinagar Nagarpalika, Member of Parliament from Mechi, and other officials emphasized the urgent need for coordinated bilateral action.
Responding to these concerns, Shri Devesh Pandey, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Kurseong, stated that similar challenges persist on the Indian side. He highlighted India’s mitigation framework, which includes: – A dedicated control room for 24×7 monitoring of elephant movement – Timely community alerts and public announcements (miking) – A centralized human-wildlife conflict management system – Compensation mechanisms for affected families and farmers The DFO stressed, _“Elephants do not recognize international boundaries, and their natural movement is essential for maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. Restricting movement is neither practical nor ecologically desirable. Sustainable solutions lie in understanding root causes and adopting a coordinated, science-based approach across the shared landscape.”
Way Forward:
Concluding the meeting, Mr. Raj Basu, Convenor, Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT), emphasized that human-elephant conflict is a shared responsibility requiring collective action. He called for: 1. Stronger coordination among all concerned departments in both countries 2. Regular information sharing and joint planning 3. Active community participation _“Only through sustained cross-border cooperation and integrated management can we ensure coexistence of people and elephants while conserving the ecological integrity of this transboundary landscape,”_ said Mr. Basu.
Members Present:Government & Forest Departments: 1. Devesh Pandey, IFS , DFO, Kurseong 2. Suraj Nirala – Forest Officer, DFO Jhapa, Nepal 3. Anil Kumar – Commandant, SSB Ranidanga 4. Nathunu Gohiwar Yadav ,Elected Representatives – Nepal: 5. Arjun Karki – President, Bahundangi-4 6. Robin Koirala – MP, Mechi 7. Gopal Buddhathoki – Mayor, Mechinagar Nagarpalika 8. Ramkumar Rai – President, Mechinagar-1
NGOs & Civil Society: 9. Raj Basu – Convenor, ACT 10. Rick Singha Roy – Jumbo Troops NGO 11. Dipali Sinha – Rapid Response Team, Naxalbari 12. Amit Routh – Rapid Response Team, Naxalbari 13. Chitra Kumar Dhimal 14. Govind Giri 15. Pratima Bhattarai
Press & Media: 16. Yuvraj Acharya – Press 17. Pravin Adhikary – Press 18. Indrajeet – Reporter *Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT) with the Dhimal community representatives as organizers: 19. Garjan Kumar Mallick – Presiding over the meeting 20. Rupesh Mallick 21. Bhushan Mallick 22. Tannistha Rakshit 23. Nilima Tamang
Local Representatives: 24. Dipen Thapa – Bahundangi The meeting resolved where the Nepal team will initiate a interdepartmental coordination methodology where Forest Department will be the nodal department and will also establish a joint Indo-Nepal coordination mechanism for real-time data sharing and community-level response to human-elephant conflict, and the Indian side will help in the learning process for Nepal with technical knowledge.
Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT) Tannistha Rakshit, Cross-Border Coordinator was also present.
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