Elephant. (Photo | Special Arrangement)
BERHAMPUR: A tusker has been giving sleepless nights to residents of villages near Tarasing forest under North Ghumusur division in Ganjam district for the last two days. The elephant entered Manapur village on Friday night and damaged some houses and crops. While nobody was injured in the incident, a few locals raised an alarm following which the tusker retreated to a forest nearby. The tusker has also damaged crops and houses in Surumuni, Matigadia, Salaptaila and Dalak villages.
The elephant may be entering the villages in search of food as the villages have stored paddy, maize, black gram and green gram in open spaces near their houses.Tarasing forest ranger Krutibasa Kumar, cautioned the villagers not to keep food commodities in the open. Forest staff under the supervision of forester Kalabadan Das have been deployed at vulnerable points in the villages to ensure the elephant does not intrude into human habitations, said Kumar. Villagers who incurred losses due to the tusker’s intrusion will be compensated as per norms, he added.
