Post News Network
Balisankara, Oct 11: The elephant menace continues to give sleepless nights to the people in the area. In a fresh incident, 40 elephants destroyed standing crop of paddy on 60 acres of field Saturday night in Bakidihi village under Kingirikela section of Ujalpur range in Sundargarh district.
Farmers of the village Ashok Kumar Patel, Motiram Patel, Shankar Tanti, Hrudanand Tanti, Gangaram Kalo, Janmajaya Tanti, Rukachand Tanti, Krushnachand Nayak, Nilambar Nayak, Khanurj Tanti, Hemant Tanti, Narayan Patel, Roshan Nayak, Sadhu Tanti, Eshwar Tanti, Chanda Charan Patel, Khetra Tanti, Damyanti Tanti, Khirachand Tanti and Dharma Nayak had cultivated paddy in 60 acres of land borrowing loans from different banks and other agencies. Elephants entered the field and destroyed the crop that has panicked the villagers.
The hard work put in was destroyed just in a night, said the farmers with tears in their eyes. They expressed worries on how to repay the loans and feed their family. Meanwhile the herd of elephants couldn’t be chased although the forest department reached the spot. Though lots of lives and crops are lost in the area, government has provided no compensation, complained the villagers.
