A61-year-old woman was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at a village in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district, an official said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night in Bhaluchua village under Singpur forest range, said Satovisha Samajder, divisional Forest Officer (SFO) of Dhamtari forest division. The victim Kamlabai Kamar had stepped out of her home following a quarrel with her husband, and when she was returning, she encountered three tuskers, who trampled her to death, she said.
After being alerted about the incident, a team from the forest department and police rushed to the spot in the early hours of the day and sent the body for post-mortem, the official added. Villagers have asked the forest personnel to handover the compensation for the attack to the victim’s daughter, as her husband is an alcoholic, the DFO said, adding that she has assured to consider their demand.
The kin of deceased persons are provided an immediate aid of Rs 25,000 for such deaths, while the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh is given after completion of necessary formalities. According to the forest department, separate herds of elephants were seen roaming in Singpur range since the last few days and locals have been be cautioned to remain alert while venturing into the forest.
Human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of the Chhattisgarh had been a major cause for concern in the last decade, and the menace has spread in some districts of the central region, including Dhamtari, in the last few years. Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur and Kanker districts have been facing the menace.
The forest department has stated that at least 204 people were killed in elephant attacks, while 45 jumbos died in Chhattisgarh in the last three years. During this period, 66,582 cases of elephants causing damage to crops, 5,047 cases of damage to houses and 3,151 cases of damage to other properties were also reported, it was stated. Movement of over 300 elephants in 16 herds has been reported from different parts of the state, officials had recently said.
