Rayagada: A herd, comprising of seven elephants from Birgotam reserve forest in Andhra Pradesh has barged into border villages—Boruhalua and Anija in Rayagada district, and is wreaking havoc since last few days.
The herd takes shelter at Metukereda reserve forest near Nagabali river during day and stray into the villages at night, forcing the villagers to seek shelter in the hills.
With no option left, the villagers have been spending sleepless nights with their families in the hills near the village to protect themselves from the wild herd. Despite, repeated pleas, forest officials have failed to drive away the herd.
The worst sufferers are minor children and women. They have to bear the bone-chilling cold waves all throughout the night. Reports said, the villagers sleep on huge stones and trees to avoid the elephants. During day, they cook in the forest and survive on forest produce. This has spread resentment among the villagers. They demanded the herd to be driven away.
Meanwhile, some of the villagers have locked their houses and are taking shelter in their relative’s houses. The villagers are divided into separated groups and are taking shelter in different hills near the village.
On the other hand, the herd also has destroyed acres of farmland of the villagers. Due to warnings by forest officials about killing of wild animals, the villagers restrain from taking aggressive steps.
“Life is not easy as it may seem like a picnic out in the woods. We have to stay away from fellow villagers as everyone is taking shelter in different hills. Despite all hard work; we will end up with crop loss and debt ridden as the pachyderms have damaged our crops,” a resident said.
“We carry food, torch, crackers, match boxes and winter clothes with us to dwell in the hills. We often burst crackers to ward off wild animals,” another person said.
When contacted, Rayagada ranger Prabhakar Senapathy said, steps were being taken to drive away the wild herd. However, people from Andhra border villages were driving the pachyderms back to the villages, he added.
PNN