A chance encounter with an elephant left a villager guarding the farm injured in the Terai east forest division. The villagers made noise to coax the elephant away from the farm.
Ram Avtar was guarding a farm in Najimabad Dhauradam village when late on Thursday night two elephants arrived at the scene. One of the elephants put his foot on the charpouy on which the watchman was sleeping.
This injured Avtar’s leg and made him scream in pain. On hearing his calls for help, the villagers gathered and made loud noises to shoo the pachyderm away from the scene.
The farm owner got the injured watchman to a community health centre on a 108 amubulance but as there was no doctor there the injured watchman was taken to the district hospital in Rudrapur.
The Dauli forest range officer Anil Joshi and department staff reached the farm on being informed and coaxed the two elephants back in to the jungle.
The local villagers State that for some days now, herds of elephants are regularly visiting the area and raiding the farms for food. The forest department should take measures to protect the farms from elephants, they demanded.
The range officer inspected the area and met the injured watchman, assuring that compensation will be provided as per the regulations on receiving the application. He further said that department personnel would patrol the area throughout the night to ensure the security of the villagers.
The ranger also asked the villagers to observe precautions like keeping a light on outside their home and to have crackers handy to explode in case the elephants approach too close.