Baripada: The conflicts between humans and animals have taken a fresh turn with the residents of several villages on the fringes of Similipal sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district reportedly living on tree houses for the last fortnight to escape elephant attacks.
Nearly 150 elephants have wreaked havoc in 15 of the 26 blocks of the district in the last couple of days, a report said.
“Though I have raised crops in two acres of land, I spend most of my time on the tree house to save my family as well as the cultivation,” Biswanath Majhi of Mankadagutu village under Shyamkhunta block rued.
Majhi has been staying with his family in a tree house which he erected 15 days ago on a tree near his farmland after a herd of pachyderms turned the backyard of his house as their own habitat. The family members are trying to keep the jumbos away from the crops by beating tin boxes, Majhi said.
Not only Majhi’s family, but also several other families have adopted the same formula to save their lives. The women of the village are also spending their days of hardship on trees, it was learnt.
“Though it is tough to spend the night on a tree with the mercury dipping, we have no option but to do this to save our lives,” Gopi Bindhani and Malati Hansda of Jhulimaru village under the block said.
They alert other villagers
by beating the tin boxes as soon as elephants enter the village, the women said.
Many such tree houses have been set up on big trees in other blocks too to escape jumbo attacks.
The blocks worst affected by elephant menace are Rairangpur, Jashipur, Bisoi, Bangiriposi, Udala, Betnoti and Suliapada, Chandrasekhar Mahant of Shyamakhunta said.
According to reports, a herd of 70 elephants was spotted near Baripada town under Betnoti forest range while 45 others including seven tuskers were roaming around at Asanabani near Betnoti. Similarly, another herd of 30 elephants have camped at Badashol on Orissa-West Bengal border. To make the matters worse, the pachyderms of Similipal sanctuary have entered the nearby villages and destroyed crops, giving sleepless nights to the people.
When contacted, Baripada DFO Sanjay Kumar Swain said a few elephants of Similipal sneaked into the villages in search of food. Though they were driven out of the villages by the officials, the animals have returned again, Swain added.
The herd of 70, that includes 15 calves and 10 tuskers, strayed from the Dalma sanctuary in neighbouring Jharkhand, passed through Betanoti range and Nadapur forest before crossing river Budhabalanga in the wee hours of Sunday, according to forest officials. PNN