<i>Elephants destroy four houses in Rangamati</i>

7 September 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Rangamati

Wild elephants Sunday night destroyed four houses at Amchharimukh, some 20-kilometre away from the district headquarters. Locals said, 12 elephants entered the localities at Amchhari and Rangapani in search of food. They destroyed four thatched and tin-shed houses at Amchharimukh village under Sapchhari union of Sadar upazila. The destroyed houses belonged to Harbo Chakma, Kayilya Chakma, Kanchan Mala Chakma, a widow and Posuram Chakma. Later, the herd entered the forests of Rangapani. However, they neither attacked the villagers nor their orchards there. “These elephants most probably came to Rangapani from Pablakhali Reserve Forests,” said Moeen Uddin Khan, divisional forest officer (DFO) of CHT North Forest Division. The wild elephants rarely harm anybody if they are not harmed by people, Moeen added. Wild elephants nowadays often come to localities in Rangamati in search of food as most forest areas have been denuded by the loggers in connivance with a section of dishonest forest officials in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), sources said.