Panamaram: A wild tusker has been wreaking havoc in paddy fields that are nearing harvest, trampling and devouring crops despite preventive measures put in place by the Forest Department and local farmers. The elephant, which has returned to the region after a four-month gap, continues to raid fields at night, leaving behind scenes of destruction and despair.

The other day, this lone tusker surmounted a stone wall constructed by the forest department at Pathramoola in the Pathiri South Section to reach the Chenchady paddy fields. It then caused extensive damage to the crop belonging to Chenchady Ananthu Krishnan in Poothady panchayat.

The elephant entered the field and ate the paddy after pulling down the cracker trap erected around the field by farmers to deter tuskers and alert them to their presence. Over the past week alone, the tusker has damaged the field on three separate occasions. Local farmers say that deploying workers to guard the fields is ineffective, as the elephant does not leave until its stomach is full.

The wild elephant has returned to wreak havoc in the region after a gap of four months. The forest department’s removal of the electric fence and filling of the trench, citing the need to transport materials for constructing a crash guard fence, has also contributed to the tusker’s intrusion into the fields.

The lack of initiative from authorities and the contractor to resume construction of the crash guard fence, which was suspended due to rain, has caused frustration among local farmers.