The terror of elephants in Dhanori village area is not waning. On Saturday late night a herd of tuskers raided the mature crops of sugarcane and potato fields in Dhanori village and damaged crops covering several hectares.
The villagers alleged that the lackadaisical attitude of the forest officials is causing the problem.
Smallholder farmers living on the boundary villages of Rajaji Tiger Reserve have struggled in these past few years fighting for their safety from the elephants that have been regularly invaded their land and destroy their crops. The pachyderms visiting them quite often in search of food feed on their crops. On Saturday night, the herd of elephants entered the Dhanori village and destroyed mature crops of former village Pradhan Ramlal , Pyareylal, Salekhchand and Sewa Singh. They alleged that the forest officials are not doing night patrolling and there is not enough lighting on the boundaries of RTR and Haridwar forest division which makes the work of elephants easier.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Pyare lal said, “The elephants are constantly raiding our fields. We and are crops are totally insecure. Almost every day, the elephants come and raid the fields of Kurkawala, Bandarpur, Majahidpur, Teliwala villages.”
It is also alleged by the farmers that the forest guards are not doing night patrolling. “The patrolling done by forest guards is not regular which is resulting in the rampant movement of the wild animals in the region. Also the fencing light installed on all sides of the farming areas is defunct. It demands repair and replacement of fused lights.” said former Gram Pradhan.