Baragaon: Elephant menace has returned to Badakhand forest range in Sundargarh district after a brief lull, locals have said.
Out of the 16 elephants living in this forest range, a tusker that has been separated from its herd wreaked havoc in villages under this forest range Wednesday night. The pachyderm went on a rampage and destroyed houses, a school, stocked paddy and standing crops in the locality.
After crossing the boundary of Madha Bag near Goudapara, it attempted to enter into the houses seeking paddy, destroyed the walls of a local girl’s hostel and ate the rice stored for mid-day meal in a local school after breaking its door. Later, it went into Katangajharia forest, villagers said.
A number of affected villagers complained that the elephant was destroying their standing crops as well. They further added that the Forest Department has failed to contain the mayhem despite repeated complaints.
This situation has led to panic among the villagers.
PNN