Rourkela: Bumper crop of jackfruit has become a cause of worry for the villagers in far-off areas of Sundargarh district as the aroma of the fruit is attracting elephants.

"This time, mango, tamarind and mahua production have been considerably low and only the jackfruit witnessed bumper harvest. You can see truckload of jackfruits hanging on every tree. Most of the fruits are in mature stage and some will ripe by the beginning of August. But, the bumper yield has been a curse for us because the aroma of the fruit is attracting elephants. We are worried and scared," said Jagannath Pradhan from Kokerma village.

Pradhan has to sell more than 30 large-sized ripe jackfruits at Jhirpani weekly haat. "If I fail to sell them I will leave those behind or give it for free to anyone at the end of the day. But I cannot take then back home as the smell will attract elephants to my house," he said.

The situation is same everywhere in the district, whether at Gurundia, or interior of Kutra,Talsara or Nuagaon or Jareikela. The smell of ripe jackfruit is attracting the elephants.

"Fortunately, the trees are mostly away from the houses and concentrated in a distant orchard or forest. But, this is a big concern for us as the animals come in a herd just 100 metres away," said Kuanrmunda forest range officer Raj Kishore Das.

Prafulla Das, a banker, who works at Lathikata, said: "Every day tribal people from interior villages come to the bank for transactions. They get at least one or two jackfruits to sell it to us at throw away prices."

Kadam Sahu of Hatibari said: "Last Sunday, a trader from Rajgangpur came on a truck and took away all the jackfruits from two trees inside my compound. He paid me just 1000 rupees. I am not upset for being paid low as I earned at the beginning of the season but I want to ensure the safety of my family first."

Amit from Khuntgaon, said: "We are going to dig big community holes and dump the fruits inside and then cover them with soil. At least, this will save us from the elephant."

Nuagoan range officer S. Shani said: "This is a very peculiar situation for them. They earn well by selling raw jackfruits but as it ripens not too many people buy it. This is has become a big headache for them."

Sanjay Singh from Biramitrapur said: "A food-processing unit should be set up here to use the fruit for various purposes and supply it to similar units in other states."