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About 40 elephants have been unleashing a reign of terror in various parts of Joda and Champua in Keonjhar district over the last few days.
The jumbo menace has triggered panic among the people, who are reportedly remaining indoors after sunset.
The elephants are on a rampaging spree while forest officials along with locals have launched an exercise to drive away the pachyderms.
According to reports, 20 elephants are in Kutugan and Kanakana forests while 20 others are on the move in Bamebari, Chormalda, Khandabandh and other forests.
As lives and properties of people are under threat from the marauding elephants, forest department has engaged 40 personnel to drive away the animals from the areas where they are causing damage, said Champua ranger Srirampada Arabinda Mishra.
A tusker, which has turned violent, often separates from its herd and creates mayhem in Jharkhand and other areas, he added. The male elephant has been unleashing its reign of terror in Padmapur area of Jharkhand.
In view of the tusker’s return to Keonjhar, forest officials are keeping a track on its movement, he said.
The tusker had earlier trampled Premananda Nayak of Dalita and Benudhar Behera of Rajia village to death. Surya Munda, a woman of Rajia, was also grievously wounded in the attack by the same tusker. She is under treatment at the district headquarters hospital.
Besides, Sombari Munda of Kankana was attacked by the elephant while she was collecting mushrooms in a forest recently. “The elephant has become violent and attacks people as soon as it sees them. An alert has been issued in the areas where the jumbo is often spotted,” the ranger said.
On the other hand, worried over the menace, people have demanded effective measures to chase the animals away from the area. They also sought compensation for the bereaved families.