[ Prafulla Kaman ]
PASIGHAT, 12 Feb: A herd of wild elephants from Lali reserve forest near Pasighat in East Siang district destroyed horticulture gardens and areca nut and papaya farms, besides banana groves, creating havoc among the farmers at the cultivation area near Berung village here over the last few days.
The herd of wild tuskers, including a calf and bulls, repeatedly entered the Berung cultivation site at night, damaged the wire fencing at several locations, and destroyed growing areca nut plants on a large scale. The herd also consumed pre-harvested crops and destroyed several farmhouses in the area.
On Saturday night, the wild elephants entered the areca nut garden of one Aan Tangu and damaged growing areca nuts and pre-harvested mustard and lentil crops. They also rampaged nearby gardens owned by Obyak Dai, Dane Daring, and Tarin Saroh, and destroyed several farm houses of the area.
Tangu has approached Pasighat East MLA Kaling Moyong and the divisional forest officer of Pasighat and urged them to take prompt steps to control the menace of wild elephants in the area.
Last month, wild tuskers broke a farm house and attacked the dwellers of Mariyom portion near Berung village, during which a farm labourer sustained serious injuries. The farmers and labourers engaged there fled the farm after the elephant attack.
Progressive farmer Tangu and others lamented that herds of wild pachyderms enter their gardens six to seven times every year and leave a trail of devastation behind.
“Our farmers have incurred heavy losses owing to the crop damage by wild elephants. We have demanded that the state government chalk out scientific measures to save our cultivations from wild elephants,” he said.
On being informed, officials from the Pasighat forest range under the Pasighat forest division visited the affected sites on Sunday, met the farmers, and took stock of the situation.
The farmers of Berung have demanded that the forest department initiate a permanent solution to the man-elephant conflict, rather than giving “mild relief” to the farmers in the name of compensation.
“We do not need compensation from the forest department against crop damage caused by wild animals; we are seeking a permanent solution to restrain the elephant menace. It is almost impossible for government departments to pay compensation against damages caused to fruit plants like areca nut and oil palm and other fruit trees which take a long period of time to grow and require maintenance,” the farmers said.
