Farmer fights off 6ft-long crocodile in Bhitarkanika

Kendrapada: A 30-year-old farmer fought off a 6ft-long saltwater crocodile attack which attacked him when he was taking a bath in the Gobari river on Thursday. The incident took place inside Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district.The farmer, identified as Dipu Ahati from Lunimathia village under Mahakalapada forest range, sustained minor injuries and he was taken to Mahakalapada community health centre. "I started shouting when the crocodile attacked me and I somehow managed to prick its eyes with my fingers. The reptile then loosened its grip and I escaped immediately," Ahati said from his hospital bed at the health centre.The incident highlights the escalating human-crocodile conflict in the area, with 10 fatalities reported in the past 14 months. The national park and its surrounding areas are home to approximately 1,800 estuarine crocodiles, according to this year's reptile census."We have repeatedly warned riverside villagers not to enter the waters," Sudrashan Gopinath Yadav, divisional forest officer of Bhitarkanika, said. The forest department has recently barricaded about 130 river ghats around the national park as a preventive measure during breeding season.Locals expressed growing concern over the situation. "Crocodiles are a serious threat. Neither humans nor animals can safely approach the river," Mrutunjaya Samal, a resident of Rajkanika, said. The reptiles have also been responsible for numerous cattle deaths in the area.The conflict has particularly affected villages across the rivers in Aul, Rajkanika, Pattamundai Mahakalapada, and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapada district, as well as the Chandabali block in Bhadrak district, with crocodiles frequently venturing far from the park's water bodies.
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