Wild elephants destroy paddy, plantain

Rautahat, Nov 6: The herds of wild elephants have terrorized locals in different parts of the district after they began stalking in search of food. The people from Gujara, Brindaban and Chandrapur municipalities are panicked with marauding herds of pachyderms.     

Chocha and Maira areas of the Gujara municipality-2 witnessed damages in harvest time paddy last Sunday.     

Ward chair Ashok Kumar Chaudhari informed that the elephants entered their homestead and damaged paddy crops cultivated in some 5 bighas of land. The harvest-time paddy perished after the elephants ate up and trampled the paddy belonging to locals Laxmi Chaudhari, Ram Bishwas Chaudhari, Jagdish Majhi, and Khaheru Saha, among others.     

Similarly, the Bantol village of Chandrapur municipality-2 suffered damages to paddy and sugarcane, according to a local Baburam Ghising.     

The herds of elephants also destroyed the banana and plantain cultivated at Gaindatar of Chandrapur-2. Dozens of elephants entered the homestead and orchard perishing the fruit, said Gopal Phunyal, adding that the plantain grown in more than one bighas of land was perished by the pachyderms.     

Moreover, the people from Baleri village of Brindawan municipality-1 are frightened of the sight of vermin. Once it is nightfall, wild animals begin stalking villages and homesteads.     

A local Surendra Patel informed that dozens of farmers were spending sleepless nights being vigilant against elephants. Many people lost their agricultural products due to prowling elephants.     

Not only crops but also human casualty is reported some time in the animal attack. Just a week back, Patali Maya Tamang, 70, from Bijayapur-11 was killed in elephant attack, according Division Forest Office in the district.     

The elderly's husband had however escaped the tragedy. (RSS)