Midnapore, Oct. 16: Differences of opinion among villagers has come in the way of driving away a herd of 120 wild elephants by forest officials in Salboni and nearby areas.

Forest officials said the herd of 120 is in forest areas of Salboni and Kotowali since October 7. 

There are about 25 villages near the jungles or in some clearings in the forest.

“Villagers living in these places are divided over whether the elephants should be chased towards Dalma or not. Those living closer to the forest want the elephants to be chased away but those living slightly away from the forest fear the jumbos might step on their crops and destroy them while being chased,” said Rabindranath Saha, divisional forest officer (DFO), Midnapore.

“These villagers who don’t want the drive are guarding their land with torches and preventing the elephants from passing through their plots. As a result, the elephants are roaming in the area,” Saha said.

Residents of the five villages yesterday blocked the Midnapore-Lalgarh state highway at Patharkumkumi in Salboni for three hours from 9am. They demanded that the elephants be immediately driven away from the forest towards the Dalma range. 

The roadblock was withdrawn after forest and local panchayat officials assured the villagers that the elephants would be driven away soon.

 “But we tried four times over the past eight days. We could not drive away the elephants because of the resistance from a section of villagers. We could not chase the herd away as villagers who don’t want the drive continued to guard their land. We are talking to the panchayats to try and convince the villagers to cooperate with us and help us chase the elephants away,” Saha said.
A forest official said two teams of villagers — who can chase away elephants by bursting firecrackers, lighting up torches, beating drums and shouting — had been brought from Pirakata, about 8km from the forest where the elephants have taken shelter.

Villagers living close to the jungle want an immediate drive to chase the elephants away because the crops have ripened with harvesting.  Buddheswar Tudu, a farmer of Bagmari village, located close to the forest, said he had cultivated three bighas of which elephants have destroyed one. 

Govinda Singh, who is against the drive, said: “I cultivated four bighas. During the drive there are chances the elephants will walk over my crop. So we are guarding our land when attempts are being made to chase the elephants away.”

The chief of the Salboni panchayat samiti Nepal Singha, said the area where residents of five villages put up roadblock yesterday has around 250 bighas close to the forest and elephants have eaten up crops across about 50 bighas.

“I request the residents of those villages objecting to the drive to cooperate. The farmers living close to the forest are in a bad situation. Other villagers should understand this,” Singha said.

The DFO said that when the elephants are chased they scatter and can pass through paddy fields in all directions. “So, there may be some damage to crops. But if the elephants remain in the jungle they will attack the crops closer to them,” he said.