Hundreds of villagers of Hatti and nearby forest areas accorded a spirited welcome to the Chief Minister, Dr Raman Singh, by dancing to the tunes of drumbeats and attired in their traditional dresses, when he reached this remote village of Raigarh district as a part of his Vikas Yatra on Sunday.
The villagers reached venue of the function from far-flung areas known for its wildlife, especially elephants that kill people and destroy their house and crops off and on. Elephants in groups enter this area from the neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Odisha. Though these elephants create havoc in the area, people of the area have become friendly with them, as they know that the Hatti village has become famous because of these wild elephants.
At present 268 anganbadi centres are working in the this area of Dharmjaigarh development block. Some years ago, people of this area were not interested to send their wards to schools, especially girls, as they thought that children would be more useful than getting education by herding cows and goats. The Chief Minister also distributed compensation to the farmers affected by wild elephant attacks on Sunday.