Thaindian News

Raipur, Aug 31 (IANS) A herd of wild elephants brought down four tribal houses before gatecrashing into a government primary school and partying on foodgrain stored for mid-day meals to students, a forest official said Wednesday.

The incident took place Aug 28 at Maheshpur in Surguja district, around 380 km north of state capital Raipur, an area that has come to be known in the last decade for its man-elephant conflict that has claimed several lives.

“A herd of five wild elephants sneaked into Maheshpur from a forested stretch of Hariharpur and brought down four houses of tribal residents in the night,” the official said. “They then demolished a portion of a primary school building including the mid-day meal kitchen.”

He said the jumbos ate about 30 kg rice meant for the mid-day meal scheme. It was stocked in a room near the kitchen shed.

The jumbos were still camping in the area and the local residents have urged foresters to make immediate arrangements to flush out them.

Chhattisgarh forest minister Vikram Usendi admitted Tuesday in the state assembly that about 103 wild jumbos are roaming in the state.

Chhattisgarh’s northern region - comprising Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts - regularly witnesses man-elephant conflicts. Dozens of people have been killed by wild elephants since 2005.

The state government annually pays villagers in the northern region millions of rupees in compensation for the loss of human lives and the damage caused to homes and crops.