Mayurbhanj:Residents of Karanjia village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha have claimed that a herd of wild elephants wreaked havoc in the area by destroying crops and even damaging houses.
The herd of 22 elephants came from a forest in Jharkhand and had entered the village on Saturday.
Karanjia Deputy Range Officer, Kishore Panigrahi, told a news agency that 25 personnel from Forest Department were deployed in the area to drive the elephants away.
"Twenty-two wild elephants entered the village and destroyed crops. Forest Department personnel have been deployed to drive away the elephants. I also appealed to the villagers to not disturb elephants by coming in their way. The victims will be compensated very soon," Panigrahi said.
One villager claimed that the elephants damaged houses as well as banana, paddy and other plantations.
"Whenever elephants entered any area they cause destruction. Forest department personnel are trying their best to chase away the elephants from the village. The elephants have destroyed houses and crops," a local, Manoranjan Khatua said.
Also read: Watch: Villagers make bridge out of boats to rescue stranded monkeys