At least eight elephants die in train-hit on an average in Assam every year, according to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Addressing the inaugural function of the Gaj Utsav, held centrally at the Kaziranga National Park and inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, Sarma said there were 33 spots with railway tracks posing a threat to the elephant population in the state.

“In a year, on an average, eight elephants are killed in train hit.... We are in constant touch with the Railways.... I believe if the railways andthe forest department can work together we can offer a new life to the elephant,” Sarma said.

With over 5,700 elephants, Assam has the highest concentration of elephants in the country after Karnataka.

Later in a tweet, Sarma said the Centre and the state government were working together to minimise elephant deaths on railway tracksbesides mitigating elephant-man conflict in the state.

Thanking the Centre for hosting the Gaj Utsav centrally in Assam, Sarma tweeted, “Elephants are integral to India’s civilisational heritage & their preservation is of national importance. We are extremely grateful to Aadarniya Rashtrapati Smt Droupadi Murmu Ji for inaugurating Gaj Utsav 2023 and prioritising this noble endeavour.”

Inaugurating the Gaj Utsav in the company of Assam governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Union minister of environment, forest & climate change Bhupender Yadav and chief minister Sarma, President Murmu said therewas a “very sacred relationship” between nature and humanity.

“Elephants have been most respected in our tradition. It has been considered a symbol of prosperity. It is the national heritage animal of India. Therefore, protecting elephants is an important part of our national responsibility to preserve our national heritage,” Murmu said.

Elephant reserves are very effective carbon sinks, she said, adding everyone benefits from the conservation of elephants as it will help in facing the challenges of climate change. Participation of society along with the government is necessary in such efforts, she said.

The President also touched on the issue of human-elephant conflict, saying ithas been “an issue for centuries”.

“When we analyse this conflict, it is found that a barrier created in the natural habitat or movement of elephants is the root cause. Therefore, the responsibility of this conflict lies with the human society,” she said.

Assam witnesses the death of 80 elephants and 70 humans on an average every year in man-elephant conflict, a worrying issue in the state. Around 1,330 elephants have died in the state between 2001 and 2022, according to official records.

Sarma hoped the awareness to be created by the Gaj Utsav (elephant festival) in India would go along way in the conservation of elephants and also minimising human-elephant conflict, an issue which will be the“primary focus” at the Gaj Utsav.

Protecting elephants, conserving their natural habitats and keeping elephant corridors free from obstruction are the main objectives of Project Elephant, a Central government project launched in 1992 to help the statesmanage free-ranging population of wild Asian elephants with technical and financial support.

“Solving the problems related to human-elephant conflict is also the aim of this project. All these objectives are related to each other,” Murmu said.

Aaranyak, a leading biodiversity conservation organisation of the Northeast, had on Thursday mooted sustained community engagement and having an early warning mechanism to minimise human-elephant conflict in the state.