Kendrapada: A 66-year-old farmer narrowly escaped death after being attacked by a saltwater crocodile while bathing in the Kharosotra river in Jajpur district on Wednesday afternoon. The victim, Gurucharan Dehuri of Kujibara village under Dalijoda forest range, sustained injuries on his hands, chest, head and back.While undergoing treatment at the Jajpur district headquarters hospital, Dehuri said, “When I was bathing in the river, a crocodile started dragging me into the water by my legs. I started shouting and attacked the reptile’s eyes with my fingers. As a result, the crocodile loosened its grip enabling me to escape.”Forest officials said his medical expenses would be borne by the department. Forest range officer of Dalijodi range Satyananda Subudi said, “After knowing about the incident, we rushed to the village to investigate the matter. The water bodies of Bhitarkanika in Kendrapada district is the abode of many crocodiles. But a crocodile attacked a man of Jajpur district, around 120 km from the rivers of Bhitarkanika. It proves that many crocodiles venture out from the water-bodies of Bhitarkanika and move far away from the park. Some locals spotted a crocodile in the river and took its photos and videos.”Within the past 47 months, crocodile attacks have claimed around 30 human lives in the region. “An endangered species in the 1970s, crocodiles are now often spotted in the rivers, creeks and other water bodies even faraway from Bhitarkanika. Rivers are our lifelines. The stakes are high for farmers and fishermen in the riverside villages as crocodile attack are on the rise,” said Bijay Shukla, panchayat samiti member of Ramanagar gram panchayat.Bhitarkanika, a vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp is the home of around 1858 saltwater crocodiles as per this year’s reptile census. To address the threat, the forest department has installed barricades at several river ghats and intensified awareness campaigns, urging people to avoid entering crocodile-inhabited waters, said the ACF, Bhitarkanika, Manas Kumar Das.
