2 wild elephants wreck houses, damage produce in Odisha's Keonjhar

In a troublesome incident in Odisha’s Champua-Ukhunda region of Keonjhar district, two wild elephants entered human settlements, breaking into homes and consuming paddy and rice, sources said on Monday.
The elephants have strayed from a nearby forest area in Kanchan Dumuria village before moving into Kamand village.

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Local resident Gurucharan Munda reported that the two elephants damaged his house and ate stored grains, leaving his home in complete disarray. The incident has caused panic among villagers as property and food supplies were destroyed.

Forest department officials quickly reached the spot and reportedly managed to drive the elephants back into the forest safely. Authorities are investigating the circumstances that led the animals to wander into human habitations and are assessing preventive measures to avoid such incidents in the future.

No comments were received from local police or the forest department in this regard.

Worth mentioning, earlier in another incident, terror had struck Nagpal village under Udala forest range in Mayurbhanj when a stray tusker entered the residential area at night on October 4, causing significant damage to property and devouring stored food grains.

The wild elephant, separated from its herd, had broken into the house of a tribal villager named Mangal Hembram by smashing through the mud wall. It had consumed a large quantity of paddy and chhatua (roasted gram flour) stored inside.

Sensing an apparent danger, the tribal family had managed to flee their house just in time, narrowly avoiding a major tragedy. This incident had added to the growing concern over human-elephant conflict in the region. The tusker had also damaged nearby paddy fields after exiting the house.

Reported By: Sanjib Kumar Munda