Jumbos return back again

Jumbos return back again

.... Pachyderms’ terror in Ganjam Block

Berhampur: After two months duration, the jumbos returned back again to Ganjam area. A herd of 30 wild elephants were in the forests near the villages. It is a headache for the Forest Department and the district administration to drive away the pachyderms again and again.

There are 12 numbers of jumbos of a herd creating nuisance in the villages since last year. Two months before, a farmer named Rabindra Kumar Behera of Rambha area was trampled by the Jumbos for which reason the irate villagers of Biruligada, Rambha were on strike and resorted to road blockade on NH-5 at Rambha.

The affected areas are Subalaya, Bahadapalli, Satrusole, Sana Ramchandrapur, Burudi, Bahadapalli, Biruligada, Madhurchua, Diandei, Panasadiha, Rambha, Ranidara, Palang, Balarampur, Khandadeuli, Poirasi, Ambilijhara, B.Kainchapur, Jagannathpur, Sana Gopalpur, Lauput, Kushapalli, Satuli, Malada, Borigaon, Kalajamuna and Ganjam.

The administration had started operation Gajanana to drive away the wild Jumbos. For this purpose it had brought two elephants from Similipal forest range and two Mahuts from Assam for training purpose to chase away the pachyderms. After the operation, people calmed down. But the re-entering of the wild elephants left the people in fear of crop damage.

Nowdays most of the elephants are coming here from Chandaka Reserve Forest through the Khallikote forest range. As most of the jungle areas are narrower than before and in the encroachment of the land mafias and wood mafias. Shortage of forest food and breathing space force them to search for a better inhabitation and environment for their sustenance. But the common people are suffering from this problem.

In the last Kharif season, a herd of pachyderms had destroyed the paddy seedlings in some fields near Satuli, Borigaon, and in the cluster villages under Ganjam Block. The irate villagers had given the memorandum to DFO for a better solution to the problem. But the Government could not succeed to bring a permanent solution to this problem.

Eight persons were died and many more injured of the Jumbo attack. Many thatched houses and paddy fields were damaged by these wild animals.

The farmer bodies cautioned that if the Government will not take any remedial measure and pre-cautionary steps to curb this problem, then the farmers may take the law into their hand. As their life line is agriculture and vegetable farming is being destroyed, they could not take it easy. The sowing has completed, it is the time of growing. If the elephants will create nuisance, then the crop will be damaged. The Government should apply a planned strategy to chase away the pachyderms from the paddy areas.