A 14-member-team of mahouts from Bankura, Bengal tasted success in driving away separate herds of 48 elephants from the Chandil forest range in Seraikela-Kharsawan on Monday.

Chandil forest range officer, Ashok Kumar said that the elephants had been driven away to Tamar and Chaibasa jungles in the wee hours of Monday. “It’s a huge relief for us. We thank the mahouts from Bengal for bringing in relief,” he added.

The mahouts had arrived on December 5 to chase out the elephant herds but had been encountering problems as there were calves in the herd.

Three separate herds were anchored near human settlements in Nimdih and Ichagarh blocks under the Chandil forest range, about 45 km away from Jamshedpur. The herds had made their way from Tamar and Chaibasa jungles and were giving sleepless nights to foresters as well as villagers.

The forest range officer had to call in elephant drivers after a second herd of 25 jumbos reached the human habitats near the Chandil forests, thereby escalating the number of migratory elephants in the area to 48.

The forest department was determined to tackle the menace caused by the jumbos effectively as local mahouts had stopped working after their leader was killed by one of the elephants near Balidih village on November 20.

“We are fed up of chasing away elephants from Bengal developing a liking for Chandil forest range. At present, not a single elephant is anchored in Chandil forest range,” Kumar informed.

Earlier too, the forest range office had called mahouts from Bankura to drive away a herd of 25 elephants that had been causing damage to crops and houses. However, the team of mahouts could not do the job, forcing the foresters to call another group of mahouts from Bankura who finally achieved success.

The range officer said, “Though it’s a relief for us you never know when the herds will come back to our area. We are cautious and would again avail the services of the mahouts from Bengal if they are back,” he added.

According to him, the mahouts from Bankura are good people and come whenever called. “We salute their bravery and hard work. It is not an easy job to tackle wild elephants,” Kumar said.