Aroma of jackfruits attracts elephants

Rourkela: Bumper crop of jackfruit has become a cause of worry for the villagers in far-off areas of Sundargarh district as the aroma of the fruit is attracting elephants.

"This time, mango, tamarind and mahua production have been considerably low and only the jackfruit witnessed bumper harvest. You can see truckload of jackfruits hanging on every tree. Most of the fruits are in mature stage and some will ripe by the beginning of August. But, the bumper yield has been a curse for us because the aroma of the fruit is attracting elephants. We are worried and scared," said Jagannath Pradhan from Kokerma village.

Pradhan has to sell more than 30 large-sized ripe jackfruits at Jhirpani weekly haat. "If I fail to sell them I will leave those behind or give it for free to anyone at the end of the day. But I cannot take then back home as the smell will attract elephants to my house," he said.

The situation is same everywhere in the district, whether at Gurundia, or interior of Kutra,Talsara or Nuagaon or Jareikela. The smell of ripe jackfruit is attracting the elephants.

"Fortunately, the trees are mostly away from the houses and concentrated in a distant orchard or forest. But, this is a big concern for us as the animals come in a herd just 100 metres away," said Kuanrmunda forest range officer Raj Kishore Das.





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