Elephant menace leaves farmers to burn midnight oil in Odisha

Farmers across Odisha are facing immense struggles as their fields are being invaded by elephants, which are devouring and destroying crops on a massive scale. From the coastal regions to the western plains, these pachyderms are causing significant damage to paddy fields primed for harvesting, sources said on Thursday.

The forest department seems unable to deter these elephants effectively. In places like Cuttack, elephants (numbering around 17) from Kapilash forests have ventured into the area, causing widespread alarm and trampling crops. Farmers, anxious about the safety of their produce, are compelled to guard their fields during the cold nights.

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According to Forest Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, initiatives for afforestation are underway to provide suitable habitats for the elephants to keep them away from populated and agricultural zones.

In Dhenkanal, eighteen elephants have ravaged paddy fields in the Kasiadihi Talapokhari areas, complicating the efforts to protect the paddy crops.

Meanwhile, in Sundargarh’s K. Balang section of Bankibahal forest range, elephants have entered villages, toppling fences and damaging local school structures, heightening villagers' worries.

In Kusumia village under the Udala forest range, a group of forty elephants has been reported to be wreaking havoc, destroying substantial amounts of paddy crops and causing distress among residents.

The situation is dire in Bolangir’s Muribahal area, where elephants have not only consumed crops but also obliterated more than they ate, leading to damaged homes and broken solar panels on farmlands.

Similarly in Nilagiri, farmers who invested heavily in potato farming with governmental aid face difficulties as elephants pose a lingering threat to their livelihoods. Bags of seeds have been rendered idle at home as the prospect of elephant incursions hangs over them.

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The Forest Department assured that compensation is efficiently disbursed, with damage assessments conducted swiftly via a dedicated mobile application.

“We have not shifted any produce yet. We are spending sleepless nights on our farmlands. We are left with no other choice than to guard the to-be harvested paddy crop,” several farmers from Salgaon village under Tangi block expressed.