Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin on Friday said the government has increased the compensation amount for the victims of attacks by elephants and other wild animals.

“In case of death, compensation money has been increased to Taka 3 lakh from Taka 1 lakh, while the government increased to Taka 1 lakh from Taka 50,000 in case of serious injury and Taka 50,000 from Taka 25,000 for damage to agricultural crops and property,” he said.

Deaths could not be compensated but it is a temporary initiative and relief on the part of the government, he said at a function at Prashanthi Park on the occasion of handing over compensation checks to the families of those killed and affected in wild elephant attacks at Kaptai in Rangamati as the chief guest.

“We distributed Tk 6.3 lakh among the family of a person killed by the wild elephants and 14 other affected families. And this will continue,” he said.

The minister said due to making settlements in elephant habitats, elephants are damaging agricultural crops in search of food, and people are getting injured.

“Eight km long solar-powered fencing has been inaugurated in the Kaptai National Park area spending Taka 1.47 crore aiming to mitigate elephant-human conflict. Therefore, elephants will no longer be able to enter the locality and people will be able to stay safe,” he said.

Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forest of Forest Department, Bipul Krishna Das, Chittagong Region Conservator of Forests, Saiful Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Rangamati spoke as special guests in the meeting held under the chairmanship of Rangamati Region Forest Conservator Mohammad Mizanur Rahman.