Udaipur. A group of 9 elephants has been camping in the forest area of Udaipur since 11th December. Their violence continues continuously. Till now, more than a dozen houses have been demolished by them and half a dozen cattle have been killed. The elephant group is destroying the wheat and potato crops in the fields by chewing up the grains kept in the houses of the villagers. The villagers are forced to live in fear.
Last two-three days ago, a group of elephants lifted a handcart from its place in Upkapara Mohanpur and threw it due to which the handcart was shattered to pieces and then caused a lot of damage to the houses and crops and paddy of four farmers of Jajgi village. On Tuesday night, village Fungi and Ramnagar Benwara Para Nandu Pando’s house, Mankuwar Pando’s tap water stand post, Pritam Singh’s house, Paneshwar Muneshwar, Dayaram, Dhan Sai’s potato crop, Manjhi Ram’s wheat, Kartik Ram’s mustard crop and Ravindra’s wheat crop has been trampled. The forest staff is preparing a compensation case after taking stock of the loss suffered by all the villagers.
Sarpanch representative of village Ramnagar, Rohit Singh Tekam has submitted a memorandum in the name of the Collector to SDM Udaipur requesting him to get rid of the problem caused by elephants. In the memorandum submitted, Rohit Singh Tekam said that continuous monitoring is being done by the forest staff Udaipur but due to only one Gajraj vehicle and limited resources like torch etc., people are facing a lot of difficulties in protecting themselves from elephants. It is quite dangerous for elephants to leave the jungle and now move towards the houses and settlements of the villagers. Many times it is not known in which direction the elephant will move. The past experiences of elephants are also not good for this area. More than 10 people have been killed in the last decade. Why are elephants adopting such an aggressive attitude? What could be the solution to this? Can this elephant team be sent out of the rural area through a trained elephant?
The Collector has been requested to cooperate and take necessary initiatives on this issue so that the harm caused by elephants and the villagers can be saved and the possibility of possible elephant accident can be avoided. Whatever efforts the forest staff has made so far to stop the elephants are inadequate. Due to the alertness of the forest staff, the people of the area have so far been saved from any loss of life. By forming different teams, trainee DFO cum in-charge forest range officer Akshay Bhosle is making announcements in the villages to alert people. As per requirement, people are also being transported to safe permanent houses by the forest staff’s Gajraj vehicle.
