Two women and a man have been killed in elephant attacks in Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh, a Forest Service official said on Sunday.
Elephant Attack In Chhattisgarh
Two women and a man have been killed in elephant attacks in Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh, a Forest Service official said on Sunday. The incidents took place on Saturday in forested areas under the Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, located more than 150 km from the state capital, Raipur, he said.
The tiger reserve includes Udanti and Sitanadi wildlife sanctuaries and adjacent areas in Gariyaband district and parts of Sankara forest area in Dhamtari district.
On Saturday, an elephant attacked Bhumika Markam, 38, from Paikbhata village, as she went to a nearby forest with other women to collect firewood, the official said.
The other women managed to escape and they informed the inhabitants, who then alerted the forestry staff.
The woman’s body recovered from the spot after some people managed to dislodge the defense from the area, the official said. Forestry staff also found near the site the body of a man identified as Budham Netam, 45, a resident of the nearby village of Paavdwar.It is also believed to have been killed by the same elephant, the official said.
According to residents, Netam had also gone to the same area to collect firewood, he said, adding that the two bodies were then sent for autopsies.
In a separate incident, 24-year-old Sukhbai, a resident of Bernasilli village, was trampled to death by an elephant on Saturday night as she stepped out to answer the call of the wild, the official said.
Family members of each deceased have received Rs 25,000 in emergency relief and additional compensation of 5.75 lakh per death will be paid once due formalities are completed, he said.
Human-elephant conflict in Chhattisgarh, particularly in its northern part, has been a major concern over the past decade, with the threat gradually spreading to some central districts of the state in recent years.
Such incidents have been observed mainly in Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur and Kanker districts.t
According to the Forest Service, 204 people have been killed in elephant attacks in Chhattisgarh over the past three years, while 45 jumbos have died.
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