Wild elephants have been creating panic in the entire Rani area since the last few days. Herds of wild elephants comprising 20 to 30 come from the Rani reserve forest to nearby villages like Rani, Patgaon, Challi, Mekurikuchi, Sukurbaria, Mairapur, Ganapati and many others on the Assam-Meghalaya border. As soon as dusk falls, the heards of tuskers enter the villages and search for food, and eat up banana, sugarcane and other kharif crops. The villagers alleged that while returning to the hills in the morning, the tuskers create panic and destroy valuable households in the areas.
Though the villagers try to drive away the tuskers by setting fire and bursting crackers, their efforts have proved futile. The Forest department has allegedly ignored their appeals for help in this regard. If the Government does not take any positive step soon, man-elephant conflict cannot be ruled out in the Rani area; the villagers feel.