Jamshedpur: Concerned over rising �tusker terror� in the villages of Kharswan, under Seraikela-Kharswan district, the Forest Department has decided to erect solar electric fencing. The idea is to stop the herd of elephants to enter fertile lands and destroy paddy crops or attacks the villagers.
According to information, about 70 to 80 tuskers stroll in that forest range and moreover recently they have been found coming down to the fields of the villagers, destroying the crops. People are in state of havoc due to such menace. Sometimes villagers migrate to safer places for a week or more to avoid the sudden night-time attacks of the wild elephant herds.
Officials of the department said that most of the time elephant herds strayed into farmlands on the periphery on the forest and destroyed crops. Following this, the forest department has decided to install solar electric.
Villages like Rampur, Gangudih, Matapuri, Mangudih and Sambhalpurwould be covered under this project.
When contacted an official of, Forest DepartmentDhalbhum, said that to avoid problems related with tuskers, the department itself has arranged for erecting solar fencing system. He informed that the cost of per KM fencing would be around Rs 80,000. Plan is to erect around 32 KM of fencing covering several villages of Kharswan.
He further added that when the animals come would into contact with the fence, they would experience mild electric shock, which would force them to leave the place immediately. The fencing will not lead to death of animals.
�We are confident that this will help us to safeguard the villagers from tusker menace. We have also decided to erect the fencing in those villages in which the villagers would agree to keep it safe,� he noted.
Meanwhile, villagers have said that they feared for their lives and the safety of their crops and had even put together groups of youths who were taking turns at night to keep vigil. They said that forest department must take immediate steps to provide safety to the villagers.
�We are desperate to find a permanent solution to the decades-old man-elephant conflict we will work hard to help keep the wild jumbos from civilian forested areas,� a forest department official.
