To deal with wild elephant menace in the district, special teams have been constituted in affected villages on the directions of District Collector S Prakash. In villages located near forests, a team of 10 youths have been constituted who will try to keep away wild elephants during night hours.
Officials informed that the teams have been provided with torches, Mobil oil mixed with chili powder, fire crackers and similar items. As soon as these teams will get information about movement of wild elephants the Mobil-oil mixed with chili powder are burnt which prevents elephants from entering the village. They have been told to first use fire crackers for deterring elephants. In addition to it, a team of Forest Department has been created which is keeping constant watch over the movement of wild elephants in the region.
According to Forest Department officials, ‘Mahua’ trees have started bearing fruits and elephants have good liking for these fruits. Therefore, villagers have been advised to remain alert while going into jungle. Notably ‘Mahua’ is a forest produce which is collected in large quantity by villagers for preparing local beer.
They further informed that a group of wild elephants few days back had reached Kelhari and Mainbari village under Manendragarh forest division and had injured a woman. The injured woman has been provided with financial assistance of Rs5000 and she is undergoing treatment at Community Health Centre, Manendragarh.