Kishanganj maize farmers at wit’s end as elephant herds from Nepal raid standing crop days ahead of harvest

Herds of wild elephants from Nepal have damaged green standing maize crops of dozens of farmers in Bihar’s Kishanganj district in the last 48 hours. Days ahead of harvesting, the affected farmers said they are worried about the remaining crops and have no means to protect them. On April 1 and 2, 2024, two separate elephant herds raided maize fields in half a dozen villages in Dighalbank block in the district. Noorul Alam, a farmer in Kishanganj, was happy till the end of March with the prospects of a bumper maize harvest this year. But things changed on April 2, when over 2 acres of his standing crop was destroyed by elephants. “It took more than three months of hard labour to raise the maize crops but right ahead of harvest, the elephants have destroyed everything. Alam, who invested a lot of money this season, is now staring at a crisis. “I cannot understand how my family will survive. Maize cultivation is our main source of livelihood. The rampage by elephants is posing a major ...