Elephant herd gives sleepless nights to Koderma villagers

Koderma: A herd of 25-30 elephants, including several calves, have been giving sleepless nights to villagers in the areas of Markachho and Jainagar in Koderma as they are roaming in the region near the Barakar river. In last 10 days, locals rued about loss to several standing crops by the elephants.
Saumitra Shukla, divisional forest officer (DFO), on Tuesday said that they are on alert and are monitoring the situation to guide the elephants to safer zones.
Shukla said that the herd entered Koderma from the neighbouring Giridih district along the Barakar river, which marks the boundary between the two districts. "To manage the situation, a team of 15 forest personnel has been deployed to steer the elephants away from populated areas since last few days," said Shukla.
The circle officer and block development officer of Markachho and Jainagar have also visited the affected villages to assess the situation. Shukla emphasised that the primary goal is to prevent any human-elephant confrontations by directing the herd back into the forest.
Shukla has advised villagers to stay indoors after sundown and to avoid approaching the herd. A camp will also be organised to assess crop damage once the elephants have moved to safer zones, said officials.
Aftab Ansari from Dasaro Khurd village rued that elephants have been a regular threat in the area since the last decade. "The elephants often stay for several days, causing destruction to standing crops and sometimes damaging other property," added Arjun Yadav from Harlidih village.