Gaj Gaurav Awards 2026

August 15 , 2026 10 hrs 0 min 28 0

The Gaj Gaurav Awards 2026 were presented on 13 August 2026 during World Elephant Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Seven mahouts from Jaldapara National Park, West Bengal, received the awards for elephant and wildlife rescue work.
Bikash Kharia and Rajiv Oraon rescued 6 stranded captive elephants during severe floods.
Ajibul Haque, Ajit Gabur, Momtaz Alam, Amasur Kharia and Dilip Munda guided 13 displaced wild rhinoceroses to safety.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released “30 Giant Steps”, covering 30 achievements under Project Elephant (2020–2026).
A ₹500 crore Regional Action Plan was launched to manage human–elephant conflict in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.