RANCHI: In yet another incident of man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, three members of the same family were trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Chutki Punnu village under Gomia block in Bokaro.
Five other villagers are said to be injured and struggling for life and death in a local hospital in Bokaro.
According to Bokaro Divisional Forest Officer Sandeep Shinde, “The herd of elephants attacked their house for paddy and damaged a portion of it. When the trio tried to flee from the place, they were trampled to death by the elephants outside the house.”
According to villagers, the herd of elephants entered the village on Wednesday evening, around 7 pm. The villagers managed to drive them away using torches, making noises and other methods.
However, at around 3 am on Thursday, the herd of elephants entered the village once again and wreaked havoc.
“The elephants broke down the gates of houses, pulled people out of them and trampled three of them to death,” said an eyewitness requesting anonymity.
"Sudden attack by elephants created panic among villagers…. elderly people sleeping inside their homes rushed outside to save their lives, but the elephants surrounded them and trampled three people to death", he added.
The eyewitness informed that all three people, who belonged to the same family, died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Ganga Karmali, Kamli Devi and Bhagia Devi.
A few days ago, elephants had also dragged Ravindra Dangi out of his Maruti van and trampled him to death.
The villagers are terrified by these recurring incidents and are accusing the forest department of failing to provide adequate security measures.
Notably, amid the rise in the number of elephant attacks, recently claiming at least 25 lives in eleven days across the State, the Jharkhand government is preparing a 10-year vision and climate plan to mitigate man-animal conflicts and restore the forest cover.
According to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Sanjeev Kumar, besides seeking to balanced ecological conservation with community well-being, offering hope for more harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife, the vision plan also includes a rescue center, spread over 5-10 hectares of land, at the headquarter level for the ‘rogue’ elephants, like the one that is creating trouble in Chaibasa.
In addition to that, such centres will also be opened at Chaibasa, Dumka and Palamu for wild elephants.
The 10-year vision and climate plan also includes Quick Response Teams (QRT) of expert biologists and tranquillisers, which could be moved across the State as and when required.
