SISAI, February 27: Elections have taken a back seat in Sisai, Gumla and Ranchi districts, where people are busy grappling with the menace of wild elephants. The pachyderms have damaged life and property.On Tuesday, one farmer and two cows were trampled to death by elephants in Badewatoli in Sisai block in Gumla. On Sunday, a herd of elephants killed two women and injured three in Pakartoli and Lalmati and damaged crops and huts. On February 15, a few hours before polling day, elephants damaged the huts of Laxman and Sukra Oraon in Jhapnatan. ``None of us could cast our vote. We were busy repairing our huts then,'' said Sukra.As the polls got over, the marauders struck again on February 16 in Sangra village. They damaged the huts of 18 people before retreating into the forest.The distressed victims and other villagers formed the `Hathi Bhagao, Jaan Bachao Samiti'. Demanding compensation for the victims, the organisation set up a road blockade on the National Highway. The blockade was lifted onlyafter police and forest officials promised to fulfill their demands. Chief conservator of forests (wildlife) J L Srivastava said the department had paid Rs 3.20 lakh as compensation, with 16 victims getting Rs 20,000 each. He said the department was processing the applications of the rest of the victims.Forest officials said incidents of elephant violence had risen in the last decade. They attributed it to large-scale deforestation.
