Barang: After a brief lull of three days, a wild elephant of Chandaka forest again unleashed terror in the region by trampling three buffaloes to death and injuring two others late Saturday night.
Sources said, the wild elephant named Makena entered a buffalo shed near Andharua village late Saturday night and killed three buffaloes and critically injured two others. After the elephant attack, other buffaloes tied in the shed ran helter-skelter for life.
The buffaloes belonged to Gunduchi Das and Babula Das of Jagannath Prasad village. They maintain their families by rearing buffaloes. The wild elephant attack has hit their livelihood hard. However, the Forest Department officials have failed to keep a vigil on the movement of the wild elephant, some residents alleged.
Earlier, the wild elephant had killed a buffalo and injured five others November 9. While a team of officials from the Forest Department visited Andharua Sunday morning and took stock of the situation, the frequent attacks by the elephant have triggered tension in the village.
The wild elephant attacks have also triggered panic among the residents of nearby villages. They are afraid of venturing out after dusk. The forest officials are also spending sleepless nights due to the wild elephant menace.
Sources said the Forest Department has formed two squads, but failed to get exact information about the movement of the wild elephant. Last year, five buffaloes were killed by the wild elephant. This year, till now, the wild elephant has killed five buffaloes and injured 11 others.
“The wild elephant is only targeting buffaloes which became a cause of concern for the residents who rear buffaloes. While the Forest Department is taking measures to provide compensations to the buffalo farmers, the officials are not taking any significant step to stop the menace,” alleged some residents of Andharua.
“The wild elephant is now roaming around the human habitations and it could attack the locals too. The forest officials should understand the problems of those who have to come home late in the night,” the villagers added.
When asked, Chandaka-Damapada Sanctuary DFO Kedar Swain said: “Two squads have been formed to keep a watch on Makena. The buffaloes enter the forest and drink water from the water bodies meant for elephants. Makena went berserk as the buffaloes entered their habitation. However, we have kept a close vigil on the movement of the elephant.
“As the buffalo shed was constructed in the forest area, Makena might have attacked and killed the buffaloes. There is provision for compensation if such attack occurs outside the forest area. We request the people to inform us immediately if they spot Makena so that we can bring it back to the forest. Now Makena is inside Bharatpur forest. We request for cooperation of all. We will think of alternative measures if needed.”
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