Wild animals have caused significant damages to the crop in various villages of the district in the past one month. Not only paddy, but sugarcane crop, pulses crop (Arhar), Potato and fodder have also been damaged by wild blue bulls (Nilgai) and other animals.

Farmers of Sundipur, Garakhurd, Kalagara, Kharaundha, Kasnap, Jaharsarai, Karui, Manjhigawan, Biaspur and several others villages of the district  are a harried a lot these days as wild animals are giving them sleepless nights.

They have to guard their crops during the night and have to tackle animals when they enter the fields in search of food. Moreover, the forest department in Garhwa has also failed to provide any help to the distressed farmers.

Meanwhile, farmers are using various techniques to save their crops such as digging trench in the area and using crackers to ward off wild animals. Some farmers have even deployed dogs and installed effigy to keep a vigil around their fields. Satyendra Kushwaha a farmer from village Gorakhpur , said that most of the residents of his village complained of damage to their crops by blue bulls. He said with the rise in raids of wild animals, majority of farmers had not sown paddy, sugarcane in their fields this year.

The farmer further said the forest department has failed to act on their complaints due to which farmers and farmhands had to scare the wild Nilgai away.

Ramsarup Ram, a farmer of Jaharsarai village, said, “Wild animals come from hilly and forest areas and have injured many farmers in the past also. Once wild animals enter the fields, they eat crops and flatten the standing crop which remains of no use for farmers.”

Lallu Ram, a farmer from Sundipur village, said he had also suffered losses to his sugarcane, pulses and paddy crop that was destroyed by wild animals.

“Our crops are not secured even in the barn too, wild elephant destroyed paddy bundle stored their recently,” Janu Singh resident of Birajpur said.

“Every year wild elephants entered in villages from bordering Chhatisgarh and destroyed the crops, damaged the houses in the villages,” he added. Divisional Forest Officer (North) Arvind Gupta claimed that the State government had formed a policy for compensating the farmers for loss of life and crops due to wild animals. He said whenever the department receives a complaint from farmers concerning crop damage, officials of the agriculture department visit areas and to assess the losses.

For the loss of crops caused by wild animals, the government has provided compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare. Rs five lakh have been paid for crop damage among five farmers, Gupta added.

“Anyone can contact our office with the land records of their fields with an application to claim compensation for losses caused by wild animals,” Gupta said.

Divisional Forest Officer (South) Mamta Pritadarshi said the population of wild animals was on the rise in the State and due to loss of their natural habitats these wander into the fields.

 On the issue of wild elephants damaging crops around Chhatisgarh bordering area “The department has no information about the exact location from where wild animals come." she added.