Annoyed over the administration’s inaction over jumbo menace, hundreds of women of various villages in Sundargarh district’s Balisankar block blocked State Highway 31 demanding compensation for crop damage by a tusker.
The tusker strayed into human habitations and damaged many houses, paddy and other crops in different areas in the block in the last four days. The women agitators submitted a five-point charter of demands to the Sundargarh forest division authorities. They called off the road blockade after six hours on receiving assurance from the forest officials. Apart from damaging the houses in Balisankara, Karuabahal and Telijor villages, the tusker also ate up paddy crops in the fields adjacent to the villages. “We are watching the movement of the tusker and are planning to drive away the tusker to Chhattisgarh forest area tonight,” said Divisional Forest Officer Arjun Behera.