Sherpur Correspondent :
People of border areas of Sherpur district are passing their days struggling with wild elephants in the recent days.
There are five upazilas in Sherpur district and they are Sherpur Sadar ,Nakla, Nalitabari, Jhinaigati, Sreebordi. Among them Nalitabari, Jhinaigati and Sreebordi are at the edge of Indian border.
In the last month herd of wild elephants destroyed about hundreds acres of paddy field . At day time the elephants stay in deep forests and after evening they come down in human settlement. Wild elephants destruction is going on in every night . The farmers of the border area are passing their sleepless nights. Thousands of farmer are trying hard to keep their paddy fields safe by lighting and creating high sound but its effect is very little.
The destruction of wild elephants started in this border area in 1997 and since then nearly one hundred people died by the attack of wild elephants. Wild elephants destroyed many houses. Farmers plant paddy but they cannot take the harvest in their house. Wild elephant eat up the harvest and damage twisting by legs. Out of deprivation and finding no other alternative hundreds of farmers migrated to other places leaving their land and homestead. In last 20 years hundreds people wounded by the attack of wild elephants . At the harvest season when the paddy began to ripe , the elephants become active and started causing havoc. The poor people of border area said that they worked hard all the day long for living and they must buy kerosene to lit huge light and chase wild elephants.
People of border areas have been suffering for long time but it has no remedy. Villagers complained that at first government supplied kerosene to the villagers to drive away the elephants but for long none keep in touch with them.
Besides, there are two well-known tourist attraction in this border area. One is in Jhenaigati upazila named Gozni Abakash and other in Nalitabari upazila named Modhutila Eco-park . Tourists and people from different parts of the country come here to see the scenic beauty of this hilly border areas and but now a days tourists and people of different parts don’t feel interest in coming these area because of the afraid of wild elephants.
Local social organization ‘Staknet’ sometimes brings out rally to aware the border area people from the attack of wild elephants and thousands of people from of all classes joined this rally. Among the non-government organizations Jhenaigati and Sreebordi ADP, World vision of Bangladesh and Pidim Foundation extended their helping hands and arranged seminar, workshop, training programs to make the people conscious . The people of border area begged help and necessary steps from the higher authority and the government.
