Fighting the elephant menace with a small electric bulb may appear strange to many, but it has become a reality in over 2,000 villages in Assam affected by the man-animal conflict where it is common to see elephant herds destroying crops, damaging houses and attacking people. According to villagers, electrification has changed the entire scenario. Not only has the man-animal conflict reduced, the wild life has started avoiding venturing out to villages at night due to electric illumination of their houses, they claimed. The positive change in rural areas has surprised even senior district officials and state electricity board personnel who have been witnessing a remarkable reduction in man-animal conflict in newly electrified villages. Of about 6,000 villages electrified under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) in Assam, this trend has been noticed in over 2,000 villages, said Mr A K Goswami, chief project manager of Rural Electrification Corporation, who is looking after the rural electrification programme of north eastern states. “We had not imagined that electricity would play such an important role in reducing man-animal conflict, but the facts speak for themselves,” said Mr D Singha, sub-divisional magistrate of Bokakhat, the area surrounded by the Kaziranga National Park. For 87-year old Dhauhna Dutta of Halwa NC village, electricity has come as a blessing. “I have been seeing the elephant menace for the past 70 years. But ever since light illuminated our houses, the entire scenario changed ~ they hardly damage our houses now as the bulb lights keep them away,” she claimed. Electricity has also helped villagers from saving their livestock from tigers. “Before the electricity connection, tigers killing livestock was common during night. Three years back, a tiger killed my cow. Thanks to electricity my cattle are safe now,” Ms Dutta said. Of the two electric points in her house given under the RGGVY, she has allotted one to the cowshed. “This is common in almost all villages, people illuminate their cow shed during night and light their house from outside to save themselves from elephant and tiger attacks. If they have two electric points, they would dedicate one to their cow shed,” said Mr Goswami. Barring three districts of Assam ~ Morigaon, Barpeta and Nalbari ~ others have wild elephant populations which damage crop, houses and sometimes attack villagers during migration, Mr Goswami said. “Around 30 to 40 % of the villages electrified under RGGVY fall in the elephant affected areas,” he added. Like Halwa NC, villagers in Rang Bong have also seen drastic change in their lifestyle. “We have noticed an interesting pattern, the wild elephant herds which have been passing through our village for decades, have changed their path a little bit. They avoid entering illuminated villages,” said Ms Rita Moni Dass, the Gram Panchayat president of Rang Bong in Golaghat area.