Sundargarh: Elephant menace has returned to haunt Bargaon and Kutra blocks in Sundargarh district as elephants have been on a rampage and destroying crops and houses in the area for the last few days.
Two separate herds of pachyderms of about 20 to 25 elephants in each herd have trampled crops, maize and vegetables in several panchayats of the two blocks.
The animals have made Mahabir hill in Bargaon block their temporary resting place during day time for the last two weeks. During night time they damaged crops at Birtola and Kadopada villages. The Forest Department, meanwhile, has been accused of failing to keep the animals at bay. This has led to discontent among the locals.
Meanwhile, Kusumdegi area of Kutra block has also been terrorised by a herd of elephants. The pachyderms enter the village area after sunset and have been reported to have destroyed paddy and houses.
As the elephants have been damaging crops, farmers are spending sleepless nights trying to drive them away with drums and torches.
On the other hand, the Energy department has resorted to power cuts from 7 pm till 7 am to save the animals from electrocution.
As a result, people in 15 villages have to live in the dark for several days.
On the other hand, the forest department has engaged many staff to drive away the animals. It is suspected that the tuskers have come from the Badarama reserve forest in Bamara forest range of Sambalpur district.
Notably, the frequent intrusions by the pachyderms to the farmlands have robbed the farmers of their sleep. Crops in large tracts of farmlands were destroyed by the elephants in the aforementioned villages. This situation has led to widespread panic among the villagers.
PNN