Unconventional Haathi Mitra from Raipur hopes more people take up the cause.

Chinmay Tiwari, a sports management professional, ensures the welfare of loud trumpets in his state by being the unconventional Haathi Mitra

The giants are in the spotlight again since they showed up mysteriously in Chattisgarh decades ago.. Habituated to human strategies of keeping them away from the crops, elephants in Chhattisgarh have become a cause of worry for the farmers in the Mahasamund district and other villages lying in the newly-created elephant range. The elephants are again in conflict with humans (known as HEC, Human-Elephant Conflict). However, today they have their Mitras (friends) with them to help both sides.

Generally, the Haathi-Mitras are the villagers from the affected areas. They track the movements of the elephants and update the information in their groups and to the wildlife rangers. This way, conflicts are avoided, and elephants and farmers coexist in the ecosystem without any unintentional enmity. In the social spectrum, several wildlife enthusiasts are doing their bit to reduce the Human-elephant conflict. One such wildlife supporter is Chinmay Tiwari, who amazingly displays the life of elephants and other species in the wild through his photography skills. To Chinmay, who originally hails from Raipur, observing the loud trumpets via his photography has allowed him to understand them better.

“How will you feel if someone's actions force you to leave your home? Well, a mere thought is enough to give you shudders. As a human, we have the social, economic, and judicial support network that might help us find one way or the other to keep our places safe. However, for the giants of Orissa and West Bengal, migration was the only way to survive. I wonder to what extent the problems would have been that they shifted their habitat permanently. They must have surely tried and yet failed in keeping their homes to themselves. It is not just painful, but also worrisome that the elephants today find themselves in conflict with us, even when they have moved to another state.” states Tiwari.

To raise more awareness of the problem, Chinmay leverages his profession in sports management and connections. He has also invited famous sportspersons and cricket friends to promote wildlife tourism in the state. Once he got an opportunity to work with Anil Kumble, who at that time was the Brand Ambassador of the Chhattisgarh Forest Department.

Fondly remembering the time when he was the spinner’s manager and had a common interest in animal welfare, Tiwari also shares an interesting tale, “Anil and me both gel well because of our similar interest towards wildlife conservation and wildlife photography. I came up with an idea & got Anil to record the messages in Hindi where Anil used to say Main Anil Kumble. Mere pyar ka naam Jumbo , matlab Haanthi. The voice note was played on Radio. It was a very successful move as the elephants’ migration was at its peak and was something new to the villagers.”

Taking every step as a new-age Haathi-Mitra to protect elephants in Chattisgarh, Chinmay has closely worked with the villagers. He provides financial support to wildlife welfare organizations, raises awareness amongst people through social campaigns, and participates in activities conducted by major animal-welfare NGOs. Apart from this, Chinmay also ensures that he is present for any government initiative and offers his assistance in whichever way possible.

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