Kendrapara: The solar fencing project to ward off animals from straying into villages near the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has almost turned dysfunctional.

With the protective barrier going out of order, the villages lying on the fringes of the sanctuary are exposed to man-animal conflict. The fencing had been put in place along 5km stretch forest boundary in 2012, mainly to check the entry of wild boars. However with the passage of time, it has turned defunct. Besides, local people, mainly the poachers, have caused damage to the fence barriers to gain entry to the forest, said forest range officer Akshyaya Kumar Nayak.

Incidentally, the acts of vandalism by wild boars at the villages dropped considerably after the state forest department had brought animal-infested corridors of the Bhitarkanika National Park under the solar-powered fencing barriers.

The project has been a failure. The incidence of man-animal conflict at the sanctuary-side villages has now become a permanent feature.

"The straying of wild boars has become a cause of concern. The wild boars are eating up the crops and injuring people. The menace had assumed alarming proportions during the crop-cutting season. The forest department formed night-vigil squads to curb the animal menace. The villagers have been advised to avoid movement during night," he said. The mangrove forest cover within the sanctuary is home to hundreds of plant-eating herbivorous animals. But recently, the sharp increase in population of these animals has emerged as a major cause of worry for wildlife officials.