Balangir: The local forest division paid Rs 14.23 lakh as compensation to farmers, who suffered crop loss after elephant herds had ventured into their villages and ravaged the standing crop in various parts of the district.

As part of the initiative, the forest officials have compensated farmers of 44 villages of the Loisingha forest range.

"The amount of compensation for each farmer has been transferred to their respective bank accounts," said Loisingha forest range officer Raj Kishor Naik.

Forest department sources said the Loisingha range was most affected by the elephant menace in the entire Balangir forest division, and the forest department had estimated the extent of crop loss on the basis of the farmers' complaints lodged between September 2017 and February 2018.

"Villages of Loisingha and Agalpur blocks are the most affected as the forest here falls under the elephant corridor, and the herds often venture into the human habitations thereby damaging the crop," he said.

"According to the farmers' complaints, we estimated the extent of crop loss and found that farmers of 44 villages under the range had suffered loss," Naik said.

"Some had suffered loss of paddy crop, while others suffered loss of vegetable crop," he said.