Baripada/Balasore: Rampaging elephant herds damaged crops over acres of area under Rasagobindpur forest range in Mayurbhanj district on Saturday.
Having strayed into the region from West Bengal, they are expected to move further towards Nilagiri in Balasore district by Monday. This has created panic among farmers of Nilagiri, where paddy has ripened.
“The district administration should take some steps to protect our paddy fields,” said Bharat Mohanty, a farmer.
With around 100 elephants on the prowl, the villagers are feeling helpless. “We cannot cut the paddy now and fear that the elephants would destroy them,” said Surendra Sahoo, another farmer.
“We have asked the people to take precaution, as the herds may stray into Nilagiri by Monday. The elephants are in Rasagobindpur now. We will deploy police force in the area to keep them at bay,” said Additional Tehsildar, Nilagiri, Rakesh Panda.
Notably, the farmers in the villages under Rasagobindpur have been spending sleepless nights with the elephants on the rampage.
An elderly man was seriously injured after being attacked by an elephant at Sarasola village under Morada block on Saturday morning.
According to reports, Narayan Tudu of the village had gone to his field to guard the crops when he was suddenly attacked by an elephant. As he shouted for help, the villagers rushed to the field and managed to drive away the elephant. The injured villager was rushed to a nearby PHC.
Talking to mediapersons, DFO (Baripada) Swayam Mallik said that a total of 140 forest staff have been engaged to drive away the herds. “Necessary steps are being taken to stop the elephants from entering the nearby villages,” he added.
Every year, especially during the winter, the people in bordering areas of West Bengal push Jharkhand elephants into Nilagiri forest range, he further said.
Prior to the arrival of the two herds, another herd of 35 elephants had been spotted in the forest area.
In Cuttack district, a herd of 20 elephants crossed Baula-Sarakoli road by breaking the solar fence early on Saturday and entered the forest near villages in Khuntuni Forest range under Athgarh Forest Division.
Due to the presence of the elephants, people in the nearby villages are in a state of panic. Vehicular traffic on this route has also been affected due to the movement of the elephants in the area.
According to the villagers, the herd had damaged hundreds of acres of paddy fields since Friday.
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