A CORRESPONDENT
HOJAI: In the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong district, a herd of wild elephants has been roaming freely for the past few days, creating havoc and causing panic among the people.
People are spending sleepless nights in order to protect their homes. They light a fire, make noise, burst crackers and spend the whole night driving the elephants away. However, in the evening, hundreds of wild elephants divide themselves into many herds and start moving from one village to another, destroying crops.
For the last 3-4 years, in many villages across the Kapili River like Bogarighat, Cherapathar, Menmeji, Sildubhi, Mazgaon and Matikhola, as well as many villages in the Kheroni area like Kheroni Nepali Basti, Kachari Basti alias Tilha Basti, Bagisadubhi, Dikhreng, Navgharwa Basti, Majh Basti, Purana Basti, Ranaima, Jampathar and Lambapathar, wild elephants have been wreaking havoc.
According to some people, the main reason for this is that sugarcane, paddy, maize, wheat, mustard are cultivated in the villages and wild elephants come to the villages in search of food.
People claim that till some years ago, there was no such problem of elephants because there were only few elephants in the nearby Amreng protected forest. But now, wild elephants are coming in search of food from many areas of neighbouring district Hojai, often entering in herds in different villages of Kheroni area when crops mature. They destroy the crops of poor farmers and the grains kept in homes.
Farmers of Kheroni area said that this year wild elephants have destroyed crops worth crores of rupees. They alleged that despite repeated requests to government officials and political leaders, no steps have been taken to mitigate the man-elephant conflict in the area.
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