A house destroyed by elephants in Tumukela. Pictures by Uttam Kumar Pal

Rourkela, Feb. 17: Residents on the outskirts of the steel city are living in terror as a herd of elephants have been damaging their houses and destroying property for past few days.

Raju Sharma, a resident of Sector-16, said on Saturday night he, his wife and kids had a close shave when the elephants were damaging his house.

“We were in the house when the herd started destroying it. We were horrified, as death seemed imminent. Then we heard people trying to shoo away the elephants to save our lives,” said Sharma, who fell sick following the incident.

The herd consisting of around 11 elephants have been frequenting the city in the night. The jumbos leave for the jungle before sunrise.

People of Tumukela, Balurghat and Pradhanpally areas in Sector-15 and Sector-16 have been spending sleepless nights due to the menace.

They complained that the jumbos had been destroying their valuables and eating crops in the field and vegetables, rice, paddy stored in their houses.

Lalru Bhumij, a resident of Sector-15, said that the herd on Sunday had damaged his house and harvest.

Most of the people residing in the suburbs are being attacked by the jumbos in the night.

“The elephants stay in the nearby forest and they attack the human habitation in the night. Even we fear to go to work in the daytime as the animals roam in the nearby areas. We are not feeling safe in our own houses,” said Bhumij.

The residents even alleged that the forest officials were not taking any steps to chase the elephants from residential areas.

Forest officials said that the animals usually came to the Koel river in the night to drink water and bathe and while returning they ate crops on the river bed.

“Most of these crops have been cultivated on encroached land. Besides, our special team remains alert in the night to chase these animals away, so there is no chance of the elephants invading human habitation. Those who are facing problems have built houses on government land. The victims who provide us proper documents get compensation according to government rule,” said forest ranger P.K. Dhal.