Nepal's wild elephants wreak havoc in Pilibhit villages, trample paddy and sugarcane crops

Pilibhit, Wild elephants straying from Nepal's forests after the flood disaster have wreaked havoc in villages of Pilibhit district, damaging standing paddy and sugarcane crops and demolishing makeshift huts in fields, farmers said on Monday.Nepal's wild elephants wreak havoc in Pilibhit villages, trample paddy and sugarcane cropsThe elephants have been active in the Seharamau Uttari area, emerging from the forest at night and entering agricultural fields, prompting farmers to seek increased surveillance by the forest department and compensation for crop losses.Divisional Forest Officer and Deputy Director, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Manish Singh confirmed the movement of elephants in the area and said the herds may have moved towards the region following floods in Nepal."Driving the elephants away from the area is our first priority. A forest department team has been deployed at the spot since Sunday for continuous monitoring," Singh told PTI.He said villagers have been advised to remain alert and maintain a safe distance from the elephants."The extent of crop damage would be established through a survey and a report by the revenue department. Based on the report, action would be initiated to provide compensation to the affected farmers from the government," Singh said.A herd of elephants entered fields near Seharamau village on Friday night and trampled crops belonging to several farmers. When the farmers reached their fields the next morning, they found large stretches of paddy and sugarcane crops damaged.According to the villagers, about one acre of paddy belonging to Seharamau residents Vijay Bahadur Singh and Om Prakash, three bighas of paddy belonging to Deendayal and two bighas of sugarcane belonging to Dheeraj were destroyed by the elephants.The pachyderms returned to the area on Saturday night and damaged around five bighas of paddy belonging to a farmer, Prahlad, and sugarcane belonging to a local resident, Shriram.They also destroyed four bighas of sugarcane belonging to farmer Chandradev, three bighas belonging to Dhanraji, five bighas belonging to Shivpujan and five bighas belonging to Tarkesar, villagers claimed.They said confronting elephants in a herd could put farmers' lives at risk and expressed concern that the animals could enter residential areas, potentially resulting in a major accident.Farmers further alleged that despite being aware of the elephants' movement, the forest department had not made adequate arrangements for effective patrolling and surveillance to prevent them from entering agricultural fields and populated areas.The farmers have demanded that the forest department conduct a survey of the crop damage and ensure compensation.They warned that the failure to take effective measures to keep the elephants away from farms and residential areas could lead not only to further crop losses but also pose a growing threat to human lives.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.