Jamshedpur: A herd of elephants destroyed several houses by straying into human habitat at Baligdiya village under Harina panchayat of Potka block late Thursday night.
Elephants who were 14 in number entered Potka through Galudih coming all the way from West Bengal and damaged four houses. The incident took place around midnight. The pachyderms entered the houses smashing the walls.
Many villagers managed to escape the scene and spent the night at the residence of former Potka MLA late Amulyo Sardar. An 80 year-old woman Surumani Sardar was seriously injured in the elephant attack. The villagers were stunned to see the condition of the houses in the morning.
Sources said the elephants damaged the houses of Krishna Sardar, Mansion Sardar, Sidheshwar Sardar and Jyoti Sardar and ate up the paddy kept inside. Five goats were also injured in the incident. The elephants also damaged two bicycles belonging to the villagers.
Soon after the incident, local block and forest officials reached the villages and assured to provide compensation to those injured in the incident. Those villagers whose houses and crops were damaged in the incident would also be given compensation, the officials said.