Tripura to set up elephant reserve in Gomati district

Tripura government will set up an elephant reserve at Gandhari in Gomati district for better conservation of the jumbos whose population was dwindling in the state.
The reserve would be spread over 123.8 sqkm area in Gomati district at the initiative of the state government and the site has been selected where there is no human habitation, Tripura Information Minister Bhanu Lal said today.
The decision to set up the elephant reserve was taken in the meeting of the council of ministers yesterday, Saha said.
"The area encompasses Baramura and Devtamura hill ranges and there is no human habitation. As many as 25 elephants of Asian varieties were found to be living in the proposed reserve areas which is ideal for habitation of elephants," the minister said.

Meanwhile, forest officials in a raid at the house of one surrendered insurgent of banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), Rathindra Debbarma at Tuisidrabari in Khowai district on Monday recovered two tusks of an elephant and four skulls of deer, Divisional Forest Officer Shaktiman Sinha told reporters.
Sinha said the price of the tusks in the black market is at least Rs 10 lakh and added that cases against Debbarma had been filed.