Bokaro: A rampage of wild elephants has struck fear into the hearts of residents in various hamlets of Gomia block, under Bermo sub-division of Bokaro district. Elephants wreaked havoc, trampling paddy crops and damaging kutcha houses.
Saraiyatand, Pandanatand, and Jatiatand villages of Gomia bore the brunt, with approximately 20-25 acres of paddy crops reduced to ruins.
For the past 17 days a herd of 32 elephants including calves have been giving sleepless nights to the residents of Bermo Sub-Division of the district. The herd, which entered Pek-Narayanpur area of Nawadih on September 19, have damaged more than 34 houses, temple, a school and ate food grains wandering later in Bermo and at present at Gomia Block.
Apart from assessing the damage of property to compensate villagers, the divisional forest department is keeping vigil on the movement of elephants and has called a team of 12 experts from Bankura (West Bengal) to keep elephants away from human habitat.
Local residents witnessed their hard work and livelihoods crushed by the relentless elephants. Frustrated and disheartened, Umesh Kumar Mahato, a resident of the affected area, expressed his grievances, highlighting the villagers’ futile attempts to seek help from the forest department.
Despite previous efforts to provide torches, firecrackers, and other equipment for protection against elephants, this year, the department’s response has been dull.
The menace of these wild elephants has persisted for over two weeks, with a herd of 32 elephants descending upon a different village each day, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Homes have been razed, food supplies obliterated, and vital crops trampled, leaving the villagers living in perpetual fear.
