BAREILLY: For over 72 hours, life in Mohammadi area of UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri district virtually came to a grinding halt as a herd of some 30 wild elephants trudged up to the social forestry area in the region, trampling upon standing crops, foraging through cane fields. Now, the elephants have started to retreat to the relief of the villagers and forest department officials.
While the foresters are yet to work out why the herd chose a forgotten corridor to come to Mohammadi after a gap of three decades, they were worried where the herd was heading to as there are no forests beyond Mohammadi. The area is now a densely populated settlement. All that they could do was to monitor their movement.
“Most of the elephants have entered the buffer forests of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve,” said Anil Patel, deputy director, DTR (buffer). “The herd has reached Khareta beat after crossing National Highway-730 and is heading towards Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary. My team is monitoring them from a safe distance and ensuring the elephants are not disturbed as they may get angry and change their path.” An earlier report had said calves had been spotted in the herd, which could turn the elephants protective and aggressive.
The DFO expected the herd to stay on at Kishanpur as crossing the rain-fed river Sharda into Nepal could be risky at this point of time.
While all are happy that not a single human casualty took place, the elephants have left a trail of destruction. Some 15 farmers’ cane crops have been destroyed with an estimated loss worth over Rs 20 lakh.
“We will conduct a survey of the fields trampled by the elephants and write to the district administration and senior forest officials for providing compensation to the affected farmers,” said Patel.
