166 Elephants in Raigarh and Dharamjaigarh Forest Divisions Damage Farmers’ Paddy

Elephant herds in the Raigarh and Dharamjaigarh forest divisions of Chhattisgarh have damaged the paddy of 17 farmers, according to a local report published on August 28. The report put the total number of elephants present across the two divisions at 166.

This is an older report, but it remains relevant because the paddy season is still under way and the movement of elephants in the region has not stopped. Readers should read the figures as those of late August and not as a current count.

The north Chhattisgarh forest belt, which includes Raigarh and Dharamjaigarh, is among the areas most affected by human-elephant conflict in the state. Herds move through forests and farmland in search of food and water, and standing paddy is an attractive crop for them. Damage to fields, and sometimes to houses and stored grain, is reported every year.

The report indicates that the forest department keeps track of the herds and informs villagers about their movement. Affected farmers are eligible to apply for compensation for crop loss under the state's rules, though the report does not say how much has been paid in these cases.

For farmers, the difficulty is that a single night of damage can destroy months of work. Villagers often keep watch in shifts, light fires or use torches to turn herds away, which carries its own risks. Forest officials generally advise people not to approach herds, not to chase them at night, and to call the department when elephants are seen close to habitation.

The coverage reviewed did not give the names of the villages or the exact area of paddy lost, and this article does not estimate them. Updates on compensation and on any new alert system for the region will be reported once confirmed by the forest department.