Herds of wild boars from across the border of India are entering the crop fields at villages Tarapur and Thutapara under Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj district after evening. These animals are destroying standing crops like paddy, maize, jute and wheat throughout the night and retreating to Indian territory again before the day-break.
Farmers of the villages are trying to drive away those wild boars by guarding the crop fields in various ways. But these did not bring any fruitful results. Some farmers are often being attacked and injured by those wild boars. According to the local sources, farmers who cultivate nearly 3,000 bighas of croplands at the villages are spending their days in panic due to the attack by Indian wild boars at night. Many farmers are reaping their immature paddy to avoid the attack and save their crops from being damaged by the wild boars' attack. Even, they are not leaving their reaped crops in the field for drying for a couple of days. They are carrying those immature crops to their homes to avoid damage by the wild boars' attack. Local farmers claimed the wild boar attack has drastically reduced their crop production and their risk for loss is also increasing.
Farmers and local people informed this correspondent that though the wild boars are entering their crop fields from across the border for the last three-year, the menace has increased alarmingly during the current year. Several herds of wild boars numbering 20 to 30 in a group roam and devastate crop fields throughout the night. As a result, the standing wheat, maize and paddy are being damaged and production of those crops is being reduced drastically. The fields being situated at the frontier, the farmers are also failing to guard their fields properly fearing harassment and threat from BSF and the BGB members, farmers alleged.
Matiur Rahman, a farmer of Thutapara village informed, the wild boars 20 to 30 in a herd, entered the crop field by crossing the border after evening and stayed all over the night destroying and consuming crops and returned to the Indian territory again before the morning. He said he was forced to reap the unripened paddy of his two bighas of land and carried those home without putting those to dry at the field. He mentioned, if the wild boars traverse through the standing crops, those would be damaged completely.
Rabiul Islam of village Tarapur informed Indian wild boars are damaging the standing paddy in the fields. A wild boar might weigh 80 to 100 kgs and the crops are completely damaged through which those run and traverse. He further said, those boars do not eat paddy but those voraciously consume and damage the maize and wheat. He added, wild boars damaged the maize of eight bighas of land of his field at a night and he failed to get even a kg of maize from the field.
Local resident Azmal informed, the frontiers with India-Bangladesh are protected with barbed wire fencing but the place from where the wild boars enter into their fields from India is full of jungles and beside the river, as a result, the place is not protected with any sort of fencing.
Shariful Islam, Agriculture Officer of Shibganj upazila informed, farmers have informed him about the incident of wild boars attack in their fields and he has informed it to the Forest department officials.
Abul Hayat, UNO of Shibganj informed, the incidents of wild boars attack in the fields have been informed to the Wildlife Preservation Department in Rajshahi and officials from the WPD have visited the spot and advised the farmers how to get rid of the attack of the wild boars and to cultivate their crops safely. He hoped to take the next measures soon in consultation with WPD officials so that the menace of wild boars is gone and farmers can produce their crops in the fields safely.
