Herd Of Elephants Goes On Rampage In Cropfield Again In Odisha’s Kandhamal

Phulbani: A herd of elephants reportedly went on a rampage in crop field of a village in Odisha’s Kandhamal district for second time in two months.

According to sources, the herd comprising around 10 adult elephants intruded into Retudi village under G Udaygiri block of the district late Saturday night. They had apparently come by the smell of paddy crop. They stayed in the village from 11 pm to 5 am.

During their 6-hour stay, the elephants feasted on the paddy in cropfields around the village. They also damaged the ripe paddy crop in several plots of land. Besides, they pulled down the mud house of Nimir Pradhan, a villager, while passing through the village.

The villagers told the media the Forest officials had neither visited Retudi nor announced any compensation for the villagers who sustained crop loss due to rampaging elephants.

Around two months back, the elephant herd had created havoc in the same area of the district including this village. Despite the intrusion of the elephants in search of food several times, no remedial measures have been taken by the authorities, they alleged.