Champua: After a brief gap, a herd of 23 elephants has sneaked into Champua range, again, causing fear among the locals. They entered this range after crossing the river at Kankada village.
After passing Binika, Katulikana, Sarei, Tinutuna, Sashang and Patala Nursery, the herd camped in the Razia forest under Kalika Prasad Reserve Forest.
Locals said they were apprehensive of the crops being damaged by the herd. The forest department hardly did anything to drive elephants back to the forests. Though the officials were informed about the presence of elephants, they failed to turn up. “This is the reason our crops and vegetables are lost,”.
Though the locals helped the forest department in driving away the pachyderms, the insufficient stock of crackers and absence of a trained squad stood as hurdles in the operation.
The panicked villagers have demanded that the forest department take immediate steps to drive away the herd.
Similar is the case at Surapratappur village near Bhuban in Dhenkanal district. As many as 12 elephants were spotted at Kalunigoda near Surapratappur village Thursday. They had reached Jamunakote jungle through Brahmani river and stayed back at Kalunigoda jungle when night fell.
While the locals are in fear, forest officials of Bhuban said they were keeping track of the herd’s movement.