Herd of elephants damages homes, destroys crops in Keonjhar

Keonjhar: A herd of elephants has been causing widespread destruction across Sadar forest range of Keonjhar division over the past two days, leaving villagers terrified.On Wednesday night, a group of 29 elephants from Champua range entered Mahadeijoda panchayat under Sadar range, causing extensive damage. With electricity line cut during the incursion, the elephants moved through the village in darkness, damaging several pucca houses. A tusker broke away from the herd and rammed into the home of Surekha Das, bringing down the walls while the residents were asleep inside.“Surekha (55), Janki Das (35) and Ayush Das (6) were injured when a part of the wall collapsed on them. Surekha sustained serious injuries. All three have been admitted to the district headquarters hospital,” said Purushotham Sahu, a local resident. The elephant later damaged the wall of Mamata Gruha before retreating.Villagers alleged that forest officials failed to respond to repeated calls for help. “The forest department did nothing to drive away the elephants or protect us,” alleged Bhabaranjan Dehuri of Ghandapur village.Later in the night, the herd entered Ghandapur and damaged acres of standing paddy, leaving farmers devastated. Crops belonging to over a dozen villagers were destroyed. Affected farmers are now demanding compensation.On Thursday, affected farmers met divisional forest officer Dhanraj H D to voice their concerns. “Forest personnel will be deployed at night in areas frequented by elephants. Compensation will be provided to those whose homes and crops have been damaged, as per the rules,” the DFO assured.According to forest officials, in addition to the 29-elephant herd, another group of six elephants is camping near Palaspanga beat.Ajit Das, Sadar range officer, confirmed that 42 elephants are currently camped across four locations in the Sadar range. “They remain in the forest during the day but enter the fields at night, splitting into groups and causing damage. We’ve deployed forest personnel in five vehicles to monitor and drive them away,” he said.