PONDA: Farmers from Kumbharwada-Sacorda were literally reduced to tears as herds of rampaging Gaur (Indian Bison) have destroyed their crops here putting them into great losses. Rajendra Desai, a dedicated farmer, who recently ventured into cultivating black rice and Indrayani, is among the worst affected. The villagers are now demanding that the forest department compensate them for the losses.
After the closure of operations at Sanjeevani sugar factory few years ago, Rajendra Desai decided to diversify his crops by cultivating cucumber, okra, watermelon, pumpkin, and other produce. This year, he had planted black rice and Indrayani rice during the monsoon. However, the bison had ravaged and destroyed his entire crop.
“This year, I experimented by cultivating black rice and Indrayani during the monsoon. However, for the past few days, bison have been infiltrating into the fields and destroying our crops. They are attracted to the fields by the scent of the rice. It’s a risky affair to handle these huge animals as they refuse to budge and keep snorting and charging at us. This has resulted in significant financial losses,” said Desai.
