Bokaro: Elephants have caused havoc in the villages of Gomia for the past three days. Elephants have damaged at least 20 houses. Even a four-wheeler was also damaged by the herd.
There are two separate elephant herds and one tusker. A single elephant was seen somewhere near Ambalnala on the Luggu foothills of Gomia under Bokaro Division, while herds of eight elephants and three elephants were spotted at Jhumra Hill area in Hazaribagh East Division. Although the district is Bokaro, the forest divisions are different.
Villagers have sought assistance from the forest department. As well, Lambodar Mahto, MLA for Gomia, has asked Forest Department to shoo the herd off to save villagers and their properties. According to sources in the forest, elephants damaged 14 houses in Rola village of Badki Sidhawara Panchayat near Jhumra hill of Gomia last night.
The villagers ran out of the house as soon as the elephants arrived, saving their lives. villagers made noise and made an elephant herd move towards the nearby forest after a long struggle. In Surender Agaria’s a villager said, “many elephants entered inside the houses and ate wheat and paddy. In farmland, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables were destroyed”.
