Wild elephants damage Forest Dept's Sherpur beat office

Sherpur beat office of Forest Department damaged by wild elephants on Tuesday. UNB

Sherpur, May 27 – A herd of wild elephants went on a rampage in the early hours of Tuesday, damaging the Forest Department's beat office and seven houses in Burunga, a village in the union of Poragaon in Nalitabari, Sherpur.

Sumon Sarker, an official of the Sherpur Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said that a herd of wild elephants entered human settlements in search of food.

Wild elephants in Sherpur.

Around 4am, a group of elephants stormed into the Forest Department's Batkuchi beat office, breaking doors and windows, and destroying stored food items including rice, lentils, and cooked meals, he added.

The beat office is located very close to the proposed Daodhara Tourism Centre, initiated by the upazila administration.

Later in the morning, another attack was reported in Burunga’s six to seven houses, where elephants consumed various food items and banana trees planted along the edge of a local fish enclosure.

A herd of 41 elephants raided seven houses, according to locals.

Meanwhile, residents of Hariyakona and Jhulgaw villages in Sreebardi upazila said a herd of 40–50 elephants has been wreaking havoc in the area for the last two days.

Villagers are staying up at night to guard their homes, using flaming torches, sticks, flashlights, searchlights, and generator-powered lights to drive the elephants away.

Earlier on May 20, two farmers were killed in a wild elephant attack in the Gajni area of Jhenaigati upazila. - UNB