A herd of elephants destroyed at least 35 houses in adjoining villages in Giridih district on Thursday night, rendering the dwellers homeless, the police said. They trampled a few cows to death and ate away the grain.
Angry villagers put up a road blockade at Pirtand and lifted the protest only after Deputy Commissioner D.P. Lakra and Divisional Forest Officer Asmita Pankaj went to the spot and announced compensation. The DC assured them that dwellings would be allotted under the Indira Awas Yojana to each of the affected families along with a blanket and 30 kg of grain. The DFO said the Forest Department would give Rs. 1,000 each to the villagers whose houses were damaged.
The herd, recently driven away by a team from West Bengal's Bankura district, returned on Thursday, the police said. Efforts are on to chase the elephants deep into forests. — PTI
