Post News Network
Bisra, June 11: People of Chirubeda, Hariharpur, Ramloi and jharbeda villages here in Sundargarh district are panicked with elephants creating havoc in the residential areas near Saranda forest for the past few days.
The herd, comprising about 10 elephants, has been damaging houses and standing crops in the area, leaving the people in a state of fear.
Sources said the pachyderms damaged Narayan Singh’s house in Hariharpur village Wednesday night and devoured five quintal each of rice and paddy. The wild animals also damaged furniture in the house before leaving the area.
Similarly, the jumbos also damaged Chhote Singh’s house in Ramloi village and damaged rice as well as paddy. The elephants are currently in the forest near Dudurta village, the sources added.
The villagers held the forest department officials responsible for straying of wild animals into their areas and urged them to take necessary action to prevent occurrence of these incidents in futures. The panicked villagers also accused the forest department officials of failing to provide torch and crackers to the locals to drive elephants away to the forest.
Though it is the responsibility of the forest officials to check the animals from straying into human habitations, they have failed miserably in performing their duties, alleged the villagers.
