RANCHI: A female elephant died on Wednesday after falling into an abandoned irrigation well at Sindri Gui Tola in Bada Baljori village under Diriburu Panchayat in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. The incident took place late Tuesday night when a herd of 22 elephants was passing through paddy fields near the village.
Forest Ranger Jitendra Prasad Singh confirmed the herd had entered the fields to feed on crops.
According to local residents, the herd raised loud trumpets in an apparent attempt to rescue the trapped elephant. The cries echoed through the hamlet, but frightened villagers stayed indoors throughout the night, fearing a possible attack by the agitated herd.
Villagers said a herd of around 22 elephants emerged from the forest and entered the area late at night. While moving through the standing paddy fields, one of the female elephants accidentally fell into an abandoned irrigation well situated near the fields.
“Unable to climb out of the well due to the water inside, the elephant remained trapped. The other members of the herd gathered around the well, and their loud trumpeting could be heard throughout the night. However, fearing that the elephants might turn aggressive, none of the villagers dared to approach the spot after dark,” said a local resident, requesting anonymity.
He added that villagers discovered the elephant's carcass in the well the following morning and immediately alerted the Forest Department. Upon receiving the information, a Forest Department team arrived at the spot and started the rescue operation. However, persistent rain, which turned the fields into mud, and the poor condition of the access paths made the operation challenging.
Despite persistent rain, muddy conditions, and poor road access, a Forest Department team, utilizing two JCB machines, managed to recover the carcass late Thursday evening after hours of strenuous effort.
Following the extraction of the female elephant’s carcass from the well, a dispute arose regarding where it should be buried. The villagers demanded that the carcass be taken far away from the settlement for burial. They pointed out that a herd of elephants was still roaming in the vicinity; burying the carcass near the village could draw the herd back to the spot, potentially endangering the residents.
According to the villagers, the herd had already damaged standing paddy crops in several nearby fields. The local population is already distressed by the movement of the elephants and the destruction of their crops.
