Jamshedpur, March 7: The forest department has paid Rs 9.55 lakh as compensation to 32 villagers through cheques and demand drafts following series of tusker attacks at the villages.
The department has embarked on the process of making payment of compensation for the houses damaged by a herd of wild elephants in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
Seraikela divisional forest office had identified affected villagers whose houses as well as crops were damaged by the tuskers at over a dozen villages in Seraikela sub-division during the past three months.
Seraikela range officer, Suresh Ram said they have so far paid Rs 9.55 lakh as compensation to about 30 villagers through cheques and demand drafts.
” As per our information the migratory herd of elephants from Odishs damaged about 150 houses, but we received about 30 applications supported with documents. Applications of the remaining about 120 villagers are pending for verification with the circle office. We will pay those villagers also but only turning up with valid application,” the ranger.
He said the compensation for the house damage is being paid in three categories. The department is paying Rs 10,000 for partial damage, Rs 20,000 considerable damage and Rs 1.3 lakh for the house getting completely damaged.
A herd of elephants from Keonjhar forest in neighbouring Odisha in November last. After the tuskers damaged houses as well as crops, the DFO, Seraikela pressed a team of `Mahouts’ (elephant drivers) from Bengal.
“Though the elephants have been droved to Bengal but we are keeping a vigil on their movements. We have provided crackers to the villagers so that they can burst them for scaring the elephants away but still it seems that they have not been able to make best use of them. Apart from the crackers, we had brought in 30 elephant drivers who worked for them. But as the villagers burst the crackers from all side, the elephants did not get any escape route and damaged the houses,” said an official.
Seraikela divisional official said that they have asked all the forest officials from the division to drive the elephants away from near the human habitats in the daytime.
�The department is also looking for young men between 18 to 25 years of age group for the training purpose and preference would be on those villages which are adjacent to forest,� said a middle rung forest official in the division.
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.
