Wild elephants defeat efforts to drive them into Madhya Pradesh

Evading confrontation with a team of forest department officials and experts, a herd of wild elephants is playing hide and seek in the Myorpur area of Sonbhadra

Evading confrontation with a team of forest department officials and experts, a herd of wild elephants is playing hide and seek in the Myorpur area of Sonbhadra district for the last four days, forest officials said. All efforts were being made to drive the elephants into the forests of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh from where they crossed the border into UP, they added.

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The wild elephants tried to enter Bichchi village around midnight on Tuesday, causing panic among the locals, forest officials said.

A forest team led by forest ranger Shahjada Imayuluddin, which is keeping vigil in the area, along with the experts, drove the elephants away by lighting a fire in the village. Bichchi is one of the many villages along the dam. Several villages in Myorpur area are along the Rihand Dam.

The forest ranger said that a team specialising in handling and driving away elephants has been called in from the West Bengal. They were present at a spot in the forest of Myorpur since morning but the elephants didn’t come out of the forest near the Rihand Dam. They were seen at around 1 in the afternoon and disappeared in the forest again. At around 3pm, the elephants were seen near the same hill again.

He said that locals have been asked to keep fire lit in front of their houses during the night and not to go near the elephants if they come to the village. In case, they see the elephants, they should inform the forest team immediately.

The forest ranger said that a team each of forest officials has been deployed at Kanchan Harhori, Karkori, Khanta, and Gadiya points in the forest so that as soon as the elephants move out of the dense forest, experts may get information.

Forest officer Shiv Kumar Yadav visited the villages, including Navatola, Jam Pani and others.