RANCHI: Even though a slew of measures have been taken to minimise the man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, there seems to be no respite.
An elephant, believed to be separated from its herd, trampled four people to death in Jharkhand’s Gumla and Simdega districts within 12 hours between Thursday and Friday, officials said.
The lone elephant, said to be furious, has wrought havoc in the Bano region of Simdega. The victims have been identified as Christopher Ekka (60) and Hemvati Devi (35) from Gumla’s Palkot and Sibiraya Lugun (45 ) and Vikas Ohdar (28) of Simdega’s Bano.
The elephant was first seen in the Bano area of Simdega, where it killed two people. Lugun had gone to collect mahua flowers from the jungles of Pabuda Panchayat in the Bano police station area when she got trampled by the elephant.
The elephant also attacked Ohdar at his house and killed him. Two other people, Ajay Minj and Imil Ba, were also badly injured in the incident and have been admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Later, the giant mammal claimed two more lives in the area falling under the limits of the Palkot police station in Gumla.
Ekka had left his house to answer a call of nature when he got crushed by the pachyderm. Devi was killed by the elephant when she ventured into the jungles near Tetartoli to collect lac.
The elephant has terrorised the areas. Locals believe the animal has been specifically chasing and killing people. People are avoiding stepping out of home so that they don’t encounter the elephant. But they say they don’t feel safe at home either.
The local residents have called on the Forest Department to shift the elephant to a safer zone. Locals fear that if the authorities concerned fail to take prompt action, more lives will be lost.
Meanwhile, forest officials have urged the villagers to steer clear of the wild elephant. Firecrackers and torches are being distributed among locals to help them scare elephants away from the areas populated by humans. A team of forest officials is monitoring the area.
Besides, the Forest Department has provided `10,000 each to the kin of the victims as immediate relief. The Jharkhand government provides a sum of `4 lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in elephant attacks.
Government data shows that out of the total 24 districts in the state, 20 have elephants, leading to an average of 80 human deaths and around 150 injuries every year.
Man-elephant conflict claims 80 lives a year
Govt data shows, out of the 24 districts in the state, 20 have elephants, causing an average of 80 human deaths and 150 injuries annually
The Jharkhand government provides a sum of `4 lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in jumbo attacks
Firecrackers and torches are being distributed among locals to help them scare elephants away from areas inhabited by humans and cultivation lands
In this particular instance, the elephant, said to be separated from its herd, trampled 4 to death in Gumla and Simdega districts within 12 hours
The victims have been identified as Christopher Ekka and Hemvati Devi from Gumla, and Sibiraya Lugun and Vikas Ohdar of Simdega
The state forest department has provided Rs 10,000 each to the kin of the victims as immediate relief