By SANTOSH MOHANTY
People in Nuakheta village under Bantala Forest Range in Angul district are living in a state of panic as marauding jumbos destroy vegetation and human habitation at the dead of night.
The latest incident occurred last night(Thursday, June 16) at Nuakheta village clearly indicated how the Elephant-Man conflict has acquired dangerous proportions under Bantala Forest Range in Angul Forest Division due to inaction by local forest staff.
The videos show how a tusker, which has sneaked into Nuakheta village from nearby forest, is gorging upon jackfruits at the dead of night. The footage show the villagers are trying their best to drive away the tusker from their backyards to protect jackfruit trees and their houses as well.
The villagers alleged that elephants, mostly tuskers, destroy orchards and added that this has been a regular feature since forest staff fail to drive away the animals to their natural habitat. They said bursting of crackers by forest staff has adversely affected the operation to drive away the jumbos thereby making them more aggressive. The deafening sound of crackers and blinding flashlights used by forest staff engaged in driving away the jumbos have rather neutralized the purpose it is supposed to serve, the villagers of Nuakheta said.
The situation in Talagarh, Bargounia, Dhokuta, Sarangpur and some parts of Bantala is also no better from that of Nuakheta. Nearly a month ago, tuskers had a field day in the above mentioned region devastating human habitation and crops. The forest staff, it alleged, instead of taking steps to drive out the pachyderms, preferred to advise the villagers to be on their guard to prevent any untoward incident and flee for their lives.
Activists associated with protection and conservation of forest and wildlife said the forest officials must hit upon a novel plan to discourage the elephants to intrude into human territories rather than bursting crackers and flashing powerful lights to counter the menace. The department should undertake awareness programmes involving the affected villagers to become stakeholders of the campaign to understand their responsibility, the activists said. The activists said the forest officials as well as the affected villagers must develop a sense of dedication to take up the challenge.
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