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Pachyderms strike again

BERHAMPUR: Stray wild elephants from the Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary have started to create panic in areas near Chatrapur, the district headquarter town of Ganjam district.

During the past two days they have damaged cashew orchards, coconut trees and harvested paddy crop at several places in Chatrapur block. They were sighted inside a cashew orchard just 2 km from Chatrapur town.

At Chikalkhandi village they damaged freshly stored harvested paddy. Similarly, the cashew orchards were destroyed by them at Balibagad village.

At Samiapalli village the elephants destroyed more than 50 coconut trees. The herd is now roaming inside cashew orchards between Samiapalli and Balibagad.

A team of forest officials visited the area on Friday to assess the losses.

The villagers demanded immediate compensation. For the past two months a herd of 17 elephants from Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary near Bhubaneswar strayed into Ganjam district. The forest officials in Ganjam district are trying hard to drive this elephant herd into the dense Barbara jungle in the district.

But the lure of fresh harvested paddy and fruit season of cashew orchards is preventing the elephants from leaving the area.

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