BARIPADA: A 52-year-old man was trampled to death while attempting to drive elephants away from paddy fields in Purnachandrapur village under Rasgovindpur police limits on Monday night.
According to sources, a herd of 23 elephants has been in the locality for some days and damaged high-yielding crops in the field. Local farmers had been attempting to drive the herd away by beating drums, bursting crackers, and waving torches.
On Monday night, during one such attempt, a tusker turned back toward the group of farmers and trampled Hemanta Kumar Jena on the spot. He was immediately rushed to Amarda primary health centre where doctors declared him brought dead.
On being informed, Rasgovindpur police reached the hospital and seized the body. An unnatural death case was registered and the body sent for postmortem. Further investigation is underway.
Range officer Ghanashyam Singh said that a group of forest personnel and Gaja Sathi had been monitoring the movement of the elephant herd. “Despite warnings to farmers not to approach the elephants and our efforts to redirect the herd, they did not respond and one of them met with accident,” he said.
The Forest department released 10 per cent of the ex gratia to the kin of deceased and the remaining will be provided after official formalities are met, added Singh.
Meanwhile, residents in Khuntapal village under Moroda block within Rasgovindpur range are in fear as another herd of 70 elephants has been roaming in the area for several days.
In another instance, a 15-year-old tusker died under mysterious conditions in Karanjia division of Mayurbhanj district on Tuesday.
According to sources, the tusker was roaming with three other elephants in Satkosia, Godabhanga and Shalchua areas within Satkosia wildlife sanctuary since a week. On Tuesday morning, some locals went to a pond dug by the Forest department near Shalchua football field for sanitation purpose. They noticed the tusker drinking water and later climbing out of the pond.
They informed Shalchua forest guard Padmavati Patra, who alerted the Satkosia wildlife sanctuary officials. The forest staff was monitoring the movement of the tusker closely. After moving some distance from the pond, the tusker collapsed and died near the roadside forest area close to the football field.
Receiving news of the tusker’s death, Karanjia DFO Srikant Naik and other forest officials reached the spot. A team of three veterinary doctors from Thakurmunda, Champua and Kendumundi reached the spot and conducted autopsy on the carcass. No injury marks were found on the carcass.
Officials said the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the postmortem.