Jumbo damages crops in H’bag

Hazaribag: An elephant which created a reign of terror in Tatijharia and Daru blocks of Hazaribag district was spotted again in a village damaging watermelons in a field. The elephant which got separated from its herd, killed an elderly woman on Monday, and was again spotted in another village named Mandapa of Tatijharia. This elephant had killed one Dashmi Devi of Simradhab on Monday morning and in the evening reached Mandapa of Dharampur panchayat. The villagers of Mandapa united and were successful in driving away the jumbo by burning tyres. Following this, the elephant damaged the watermelon crop grown in more than 2 acres of land in Chechaki of Dharampur. The field belonged to local farmer Shankar Kumar Sharma who said that the elephant not only ate watermelons but also trampled them. The elephant also destroyed banana crop grown in the field of Jainul Ansari of Jeruwadih. Forest officials have assured to pay compensation to the affected farmers.