Pilibhit, Wild elephants straying from Nepal’s forests after the flood disaster have wreaked havoc in villages of Pilibhit district, damaging standing paddy and sugarcane crops and demolishing makeshift huts in fields, farmers said on Monday.
Divisional Forest Officer and Deputy Director, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Manish Singh confirmed the movement of elephants in the area and said the herds may have moved towards the region following floods in Nepal.
He said villagers have been advised to remain alert and maintain a safe distance from the elephants.
“The extent of crop damage would be established through a survey and a report by the revenue department.
Based on the report, action would be initiated to provide compensation to the affected farmers from the government,” Singh said. About one acre of paddy belonging to Seharamau residents Vijay Bahadur Singh and Om Prakash, three bighas of paddy belonging to Deendayal and two bighas of sugarcane belonging to Dheeraj were destroyed by the elephants, according to the villagers. They said confronting elephants in a herd could put farmers’ lives at risk and expressed concern that the animals could enter residential areas, potentially resulting in a major accident.
