KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Aug 12: A wild elephant that has separated from its herd has devoured rice from an FCI godown at Chakulia Township in the Ghatsila sub-division of the East Singhbhum district on Saturday morning.
This was the third time that the tusker christened as ‘Ramlal’ had intruded into the godown for eating rice during the past fortnight.
Ramlal which is in Chakulia jungle having crossed the Bengal with a herd of migratory elephants had earlier swooped over a primary school’s kitchen and had eaten up the stock of rice meant for children’s midday meal.
As the elephant has turned habitual intruder in the FCI godown located in the ward No 10 of the municipal area, some people had immediately informed the godown in-charge about the fresh attack.
The elephant had entered into the godown having broken open its shutter.
The godown in-charge, Shushil Kumar Sharma, had informed the forest department’s QRT which somehow managed to drive the elephant out of the godown and drove it away in the forest stretch.
Ramlal had torn apart three sacks of rice and destroyed much of the grains while devouring it. While leaving the FCI godown premises, it broke open a portion of the compound wall.
The silver lining of ‘Ramlal’ is that though it is in a rice-eating spree, often amusing the local residents, it has never been aggressive during its sojourn there.
