KENDRAPARA: A 30-year-old man of Lunimathia village in Mahakalapada range shot to instant fame after he fought off a crocodile and survived to tell the tale on Thursday. Dipu Ahati, a farmer valiantly fought the crocodile that attacked him in Gobari river.
Dipu’s fight forced the reptile to loosen its grip allowing him to escape and recount the experience. “I was shocked when a six-foot-long crocodile suddenly appeared in the river and dragged me with my legs when I was taking a bath at the river ghat. I started shouting and pricked the eyes of the reptile with my fingers. The crocodile loosened its grip after enabling me to escape,” said Dipu who is undergoing treatment for his wounds at the Mahakalapada community health centre.
The human and crocodile conflict in villages around Bhitarkanika national park and its nearby areas has reached a feverish pitch in the recent past as the estuarine crocodiles killed 10 persons in 14 months and 26 human deaths in 30 months.
Riverside villagers remain wary because several crocodiles roam in the rivers, creeks and water bodies.
Crocodiles are often seen invading the riverside villages across the rivers in Aul, Rajkanika, Pattamundai Mahakalapada and Rajnagar blocks of Kendrapara district and Chandabali block in Bhadrak district far away from the park’s water bodies.