IPOH: Authorities have been urged to take immediate action to address wild elephant incursions into orchards, which have damaged crops and infrastructure in the area since Sept 27.
Bukit Bangkong Agricultural Land Operators Association member Abdul Rahim Ahmad said wild elephants had entered the orchards on three occasions, namely Sept 27, Oct 3 and 11, affecting 9.7ha of land and 12 farmers.
“We started farming here in 2018, growing fruits such as durian, coconut, jackfruit and bananas.
“Previously, we had to deal with tigers, but now we are facing problems with elephants.
“The elephants have knocked down many trees and destroyed the water tanks and pipes we installed here,” he said yesterday, Bernama reported.
Abdul Rahim said the situation had placed a heavy financial burden on the affected farmers, who had suffered losses amounting to thousands of ringgit due to damage to their crops and property.
“Replacing one water tank costs about RM800, and some farmers have seven or eight tanks.
“On top of that, they have also suffered losses from damaged fruit trees.
“We really hope this problem can be resolved quickly,” he said.
Another association member, Rohaniah Razari, said a formal complaint had been lodged with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), seeking further action to resolve the issue.
“We hope the authorities will act soon because we are now afraid to go to our orchards.
“We have not had a direct encounter with the elephants, but we do not want to wait for someone to get hurt before anything is done,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ipoh City Council councillors’ Chief Whip Datuk Mazlan Abdul Rahman has urged the relevant agencies to take swift action to address the problem.
“Some farmers rely on their farm produce as their main source of income.
“We understand the concerns raised by the farmers in Bukit Bangkong, and we do not want their years of hard work to go to waste because of wild elephants,” he said.
