KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, June 27: Attendance of students of a primary school in Chakulia dropped drastically on Tuesday as parents have stopped sending children in the apprehension of wild elephants’ attack.
The fear of tuskers attack gripped the villagers after a herd of seven wild elephants devoured stock of rice from Purnapani Prathemik Vidyalay in Badamara panchayat of Chakulia block in Ghatsila sub-division in the intervening night of Monday.
Having broken open the school’s kitchen gate, the elephants devoured two quintals of rice which was kept in two separate plastic drums.
As the primary school is located between the Chakulia airstrip on one side and the Chakulia jungle on the other side, the people living in the Badamara panchayat are in fear of unseen danger from the separate herds of migratory elephants.
Headmaster of the Purnapani Prathemik Vidyalay, Haradhan Bera said, from Gadiadih village alone 16 children have not come today.
About 27 wild elephants have entered into the Chakulia jungle from neighbouring Bengal in the past one month. The elephants have damaged several thatched houses while searching for food during this period besides trampling more than one villager to death during this period.
As a result of the elephants’ menace, the villagers are passing sleepless nights as they are compelled to remain awake throughout the night. The villagers’ movement in the area has also become restricted automatically after sunset.
Forest range officer, Chakulia, Digvijay Singh claimed a quick response team set up by him is trying to drive the wild elephants back to Bengal but the elephants are coming back again and again.
“We have provided the villagers crackers and drums so that they may use them in the face of imminent danger from the migratory elephants. At the same time we are trying to drive the herds away from the human habitats, ” said Singh while talking to lagatar24.com.
