ROURKELA: Fear lurks in villages under Rourkela Forest Division (FD) of Sundargarh district as elephants continue to take human lives at will. On Tuesday night, the jumbo herd, which has been spreading terror since the last 10 days, claimed the life of a woman at Kopsingha village in Bisra range. The deceased was identified as 55-year-old Padma Munda.
The elephants attacked Munda’s house at about 2 am before trampling her to death. The same herd is responsible for three human deaths in the division during the last 10 days.
Rourkela Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) JK Mohanty said, the herd had recently moved to Jharkhand from Bisra but returned last night. After damaging Munda’s mud house, the elephants dragged the woman out and trampled her.
Forest officials informed that the same herd had killed a villager Jhakar Mahato and critically injured one Raju Mahato of Danapali under Saranda Forest Division in adjacent Jharkhand on Monday night.
On January 2, the herd had killed a villager in Bisra range and caused the death of a youth the next day after attacking his house.
While the entire Sundargarh district has been affected by the jumbo menace, Kuanrmunda and Bisra ranges are bearing the brunt of elephant depredations. As many as 11 human casualties have been reported since June last year of which 10 deaths are attributed to this particular herd.
On the other hand, Forest officials are clueless how to tackle the herd which now has six elephants after a tusker separated from it.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rourkela Sanjay Swain said, half a dozen of officers and more than 100 field personnel have been deployed to drive the herd away from Bisra range to deep forest in Jharkhand. The DFO said he would draw the attention of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) for a permanent solution.
Meanwhile, villagers, who are living in constant fear, lodged protests with Forest officials in Bisra after the latest casualty. The panic-stricken locals said they fear for life after sundown as elephants often appear unexpectedly and attack their mud houses.