JEYPORE: Panic has gripped several villages on Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border in Koraput district following havoc created by a herd of elephants.
The herd, comprising seven elephants, has damaged crops on acres of land in the villages in the past two days. Special teams of the Forest department from Bandhugaon and Narayanpatna rushed to the villages to chase away the herd on Sunday. Sources said following heavy rainfall in Pravatipuram area under Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, the elephants ventured into Almonda village in Odisha from Pilkude forest range in search of food.
The herd, comprising three female elephants, was initially sighted at Chikitilab forest area in Koraput district and later at Diguvadrapali village where it damaged crops on around 10 acres land. Panic stricken villages of Bandhugam, Almonda and Narayanpatna areas informed the forest officials who started a drive to chase away the elephants by bursting crackers and beating of drums on Sunday. Besides, a 20-member forest team is camping in the area to check the herd’s entry into human settlements. It is for the first time in the past two years that an elephant herd has been sighted in Bandhugam and Narayanpatna blocks of Koraput district. Sources said there is an elephant corridor from T Rampur and Mandapur forest in Kalahandi district to the forest in Viziangaram district of Andhra Pradesh.