Bhawanipatna: A herd of elephants has been wreaking havoc at villages in T. Rampur block in Kalahandi district. The herd has damaged acres of farmland as the marauding elephants feed on the sprouting crops.
While acres of farmlands have been washed away and submerged due to the prevailing rainfall, the elephant herd has added to the woes of the farmers. Mostly, the elephants enter banana, maize, paddy and ragi farms and feed on the crops. The herd strays into the villages at night and destroys the crops. The farmers fail to watch their crops at night due to the rain.
Earlier, the herd had damaged houses at Matchachuan village in the same block. The locals have taken upon themselves the task of driving away the wild herd into forest with no help from the forest officials.
However, the pachyderms enter villages and continue to wreak havoc. This menace has spread resentment among the farmers and tribals. They held the forest department responsible for the state of affairs and accused them of failing to track the movements of the elephants.
Some of the affected farmers were: Sobhasingh Majhi, Shyam Sundar Majhi, Ajay Majhi, Balram Majhi, Ghasiram Majhi, Magu Majhi and Mansingh Majhi of Mathachuan.
After getting information, forester Sorendri Banke along with some forest officials reached the village and took stock of the situation. The team prepared a report of the loss suffered by the farmers and assured them of necessary compensation.
“A report of the loss suffered by the farmers has been prepared and compensation will be provided to them. Steps are also being taken to drive away the elephants from the human habitation,” forester Banke said.
PNN