Elephants ravage paddy crops in Odisha villages

BARIPADA: Farmers of Betnoti and Rasgovindpur under Baripada forest division are a distressed lot as a herd of 55 elephants has damaged vast paddy crops.

The elephants crossed the Odisha-West Bengal and Odisha-Jharkhand borders, destroying crops during their two-day stay. After moving to Nilagiri range in Balasore, they returned to Betnoti, continuing to damage crops at night while returning to forests during the day.

Latika Murmur, Sibani Murmu and Baidhar Singh from Betnoti shared their plight, stating that communities across Betnoti and Rasgovindpur ranges have been severely impacted by the elephant depredation.