Chhendipada/Palam: Residents of Chhendipada village are worried following reports that an elephant which killed humans and wreaked havoc under the Chhendipada forest range entered their area by 4 am Saturday.
The fear of the jumbo loomed large at the denizens of Chhendipada, Mamuria and Saluikhaman villages.
Villagers first spotted the wild pachyderm feeding upon ripened paddy crops that were stacked in the village after the latter strayed into Pradhan Sahi of the village from the nearby Bankurupal jungle.
When villagers made noises to drive the jumbo away from human settlements, it ran away towards Mamuria village.
Villagers along with the elephant squad of the Forest Department launched a joint operation following which they burst fire crackers to ward off the elephant.
After a four-hour-long operation, they finally succeeded in driving away the jumbo who crossed the Angul-Chhendipada main road and went into the wild.
Notably, a tranquilising team was formed by the Forest Department to sedate the tusker following several incidents of man-animal conflicts.
However, the jumbo gave them a slip and escaped without being tranquilised.
The tusker has been reportedly moving in the region for the last six days.
The news is giving sleepless nights to the villagers who are suffering crop loss due to the jumbo menace.
The tuskers damaged several tracts of standing crops on agricultural lands at Naupada village, reports said.
Meanwhile in another incident, wild elephant herds have wreaked havoc at Panga, Dudalu, Mundagaon, Kamardha, Gupti and Samarkata villages under Narla block in Kalahandi district.
The jumbos have reportedly destroyed houses and damaged standing crops on acres of farmlands.
Even as the villagers have approached the Forest Department to avoid such incidents, the department has not taken any step in this regard, they alleged.
PNN
