Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said this while addressing an event to mark the World Elephant Day at the Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. The minister said India has emerged a pioneer in elephant conservation and managing human-elephant conflicts is the major focus of the government. “With competition for resources, (the number of) human-animal conflicts are increasing, and it is very unfortunate that around 500 people are killed in elephant attacks and 100 jumbos are killed in retaliation annually,” Yadav said. “Managing human-elephant conflict is the major focus of the government. The Narendra Modi government has increased the ex-gratia amount for families of those killed in elephant attacks from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
