Parjang: Frequent straying of elephants into human habitats in Dihadol forest section in Dhenkanal district has proved menacing for farmers, a report said.
A jumbo herd went on a rampage destroying paddy and vegetable cultivations, carrying away paddy sacks and pulling down walls of houses here late Saturday night.
The residents have warned of an agitation if their concerns are not addressed. The elephant herd pulled down the house of a woman Chanchala Samal and destroyed the paddy sacks stored in the yard of Ajay Samal and Utsav Samal. Later, the pachyderms pulled down the compound wall of Prithwiraj Seth’s house and destroyed the banana, mango and pineapple cultivations.
The herd later strayed into the backyard of Bibhuti Bhushan Nayak’s house and destroyed his vegetable cultivation. The villagers rued that they informed the forest guard about the arrival of the elephants but he did not turn up.
This has sparked anger among the villagers who have started preparing for an agitation citing forest officials’ apathy.
Two villagers Bipin Bihari Bikram Singh and Dinesh Sardar Singh have suffered maximum loss in the elephant menace. They had harvested over 200 packets of paddy and stored the stock in their yard but the marauding herd destroyed and trampled the paddy stocks. The animals even carried away paddy packets on their backs, the farmers alleged.
A number of jumbo herds have strayed into various areas of the block and destroying crops and houses. The forest officials are finding it difficult to drive away such a large number of elephants.
Forest ranger Harmohan Nayak admitted that elephants have become a menace. An assessment of the loss suffered by farmers will be made and compensation paid to them, the ranger added.
PNN
