 | Elephants -- why do they hate us? You'll see ... |
Herds of hungry wild elephants are on the rampage. They destroyed at least 250 houses and several hundred acres of orchards in Barunachhari village in Barkal upazila in last ten days.
At least 5000 people have become homeless. Villagers in Barunachhari and adjoining areas now pass sleepless nights, beating drums and making big fires at night to keep marauding elephants away.
A team of newsmen during a recent visit to the remote area saw damaged houses, crop fields and gardens of banana, mango, jack fruit, coconut and other fruits.
| Lucky the elephants are vegetarians, or that wouldn't have been all they saw ... |
The villagers said elephants come to human habitations just before the evening, search for food throughout the night and leave before dawn. Md. Alam Farazi, a member of Village Defense Party in Barunachhari village said he used to earn about Tk 30,000 from banana and Tk 20,000 from amloki (a kind of medicinal fruit). Elephants completely destroyed his plantations on about five acres.
| But with all the amloki they're much healthier elephants now ... |
When contacted, Asit Ranjan Pal, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rangamati South Circle, said he can not blame elephants for attacking human habitations because men are depleting forests and their sources of food and shelter. "I have no power to kill elephants. I have nothing to do except advising villagers to beat drums and make fire at night. It is my duty to protect wildlife".
Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Gazi Md Julhas said, "We have nothing to do. Wild elephants attack human habitations in other areas also in Rangamati. I think the forest department can take steps in this regard".| "Hello, operator? I need the number for the Rapid Elephant Batallion...and make it quick! |
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