Hazaribag: For years, nights in Birhor Tanda in Khambhawa village under Dharampur panchayat in Tatijharia block meant fear, darkness, and constant vigil against herds of marauding elephants. The 20-odd families who live in the village retreated indoors after sunset and relied on dim oil lamps to get through the night as elephants moved in silence in the nearby forests.Things however have started to change for good now after the residents of the village, majority of them from a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), saw 20 solar-powered streetlights being installed on March 23. The streetlights illuminated their pathways and offering them a sense of safety after sunset, the locals said.The initiative, supported by ONGC under the aspirational district program and facilitated by the Hazaribag district administration, has transformed the village.Local mukhiya Kanti Devi took up the matter with deputy commissioner Shashi Prakash Singh apprising him about the problems faced by locals amid the risk of elephant menace. ONGC was then brought on board for the project, which was implemented by the Jan Sahayog Kendra.“Earlier, we would shut ourselves inside as soon as it got dark due to fear of wild animals, especially elephants. Now, with lights in place, we can detect movement from a distance and feel safer stepping out even at night,” Lakhan Birhor, a resident, said. “Elephants keep visiting our hamlet round the year. They even trampled a few people in surrounding areas in the past,” he said.Officials hoped the streetlights would reduce risks of human-elephant conflicts along with improving mobility and overall quality of life in the village.Jan Sahayog Kendra secretary Narendra Kumar said that the organisation has been working with Birhor families on multiple fronts, including access to clean drinking water, education, healthcare, and social awareness. “The intervention is a small but meaningful step towards integrating the marginalised Birhor community into the mainstream,” he said.
