ANGUL: A 29-year-old woman was reportedly trampled to death by a tusker in Saharagada Sunabhuin village under Bantala police limits in Angul district on Wednesday morning.
The deceased was identified as Jhili Behera. Sources said Jhili had gone to fetch water from a tube-well located about 100 metre from her house. Due to foggy conditions and poor visibility, she reportedly failed to notice the elephant which was roaming near the village. She came face-to-face with the pachyderm and was trampled to death.
Following the incident, irate villagers blocked the Bantala-Angul road in protest, accusing forest officials of failing to drive away an elephant herd that has been frequenting the area for the past several months. The blockade lasted for over four hours and was lifted after forest authorities assured the agitators that steps would be taken to drive the herd away from near their village.
Forest officials provided Rs 60,000 as the first instalment of compensation to the bereaved family. The remaining amount of `10 lakh would be paid after completion of necessary formalities, said an official.
Assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Bidhya Sagar said a herd of around seven elephants has been roaming near the village for several days. Forest squads are closely monitoring its movement and maintaining vigil in the area.