The district police, headed by SP Amitkumar Bharat Rathore, issued employment orders to 46 residents of Jhargram villages who had lost family members to elephant attacks since 2011.

The move came a month after chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the area and said an employable youth of each family that lost a member to elephant attacks would get jobs as special home guard.

Sources said after medical tests and preliminary training, all 46 would be deployed at police stations in the district.

“Elephant attacks have always been a menace to our livelihood and lives. Other than destroying crops, particularly paddy, elephants storm our villages and trample anyone in their way,” said Daman Hembrom, 35, whose father was killed in 2018 as a part of a hula or search party to scare away elephants. “This job offer is a huge relief,” he added.

Addressing the ongoing problem, villagers and district officials said other measures were also underway to address the threat to crops and people in Jhargram’s Bhowda, Kolabani and Chinchurgheria villages amid forests where a herd of 16 was spotted as recently as this month.

“The state government has received a proposal from the forest department about the construction of ditches to deter herds, but we have received no response yet,” said Jhargram divisional forest officer (DFO) Basab Raj Holichhi, referring to the controversial move employed in other districts which sometimes has proven fatal for fallen elephants.

Chinchurgheria resident Dulal Baskui said their chief concern in the rural forest belt was protecting their harvest from elephant herds. “Loss of life is not as rampant as loss of our crops. We appeal to the state government urgently to do something to protect our crops,” Baskui added.