rudrapur people that stray into animal territories that traditionally do not belong to them and affect the biodiversity of forests may be in for a surprise the forest department has dug up trenches in the kilpura range forests in khatima to curb the illegal exploitation of the forest estate and also to avoid the manelephant conflict in the region which is quite recurrent divisional forest officer dfo of the easter terai circle nitish mani tripathi said digging trenches will not ensure safety of elephants but will also prevent entry of wild elephants into farms and protect standing crops the trenches are being dug with 2 metres top width and 25 metres depth the forest department has also been encouraging farmers to dig up trenches on their own choice rather than erecting electric fences the electric fences are supposed to act as only psychological barriers to prevent wildlife from straying into human habitations earlier in december 2016 the biggest antiencroachment drive was taken up by the forest department when encroachments were removed from over 500 acres of land in forest ranges in khatima joint teams of police and the forest department had also dug up a ditch in this part of the jungle to avoid any further encroachment this drive will help avoid the mananimal conflict this will also hamper the frequent entries of herds of elephants in the populated areas and trampling the crops the forest department is also required to augment fodder resources and provide waterholes for wild animals within the forests we have also passed orders to not allow any unauthorized entry in the forest and even twowheelers will not be allowed inside the jungle boundaries said dfo tripathi