As Elephants Kill 1 More Person, Bihar Officials Accuse Jharkhand Of Pushing Wild Tuskers To Their Area
The problem started on March 26 when a herd of 28 elephants moved from Koderma in Jharkhand to Nawada in Bihar and killed a villager.
By Dev Raj
Published : May 3, 2026 at 11:12 AM IST
Patna: You may call it a 'jumbo' dispute between Bihar and Jharkhand! A war is brewing between the two eastern states over elephant incursion.
The Bihar forest department officials are accusing their Jharkhand counterparts of pushing the pachyderms into their territory as a short-term measure to escape the public fury. The massive animals have killed around two dozen people in Jharkhand, spreading panic, frustration and anger among the rural population.
Every night, forest department officials in Nawada district of Bihar come out with flaming torches and flashlights, burst crackers, beat drums, and blare sirens to drive away elephants crossing over from Jharkhand, endangering the local population. They are assisted by a team of professional 'elephant chasers' from Bankura in West Bengal. Sometimes officials from neighbouring districts are also roped in to assist.
Drones with thermal imaging capabilities are also being used to ensure the pachyderms do not stray toward villages, and are instead guided to the forests, where they can find safety and food.
For more than a month, they have been battling the elephants and the apathy of Jharkhand's forest department officials, who refuse to listen to their requests. As a result, the tuskers have killed two people so far.
The latest person to lose his life was 60-year-old Bachchu Ram of Jethsari village under Govindpur police station area on Friday night. He had gone out toward the nearby jungle to relieve himself.
"As per our information, the deceased ventured out to the forest and was also carrying a flashlight. A rogue elephant trampled him to death. We are processing the compensation, which the state government provides, for his family. We are using the public address system to spread awareness among villagers living close to the forests about the prevailing danger and asking them not to move out of their homes at night. Still, they venture out,” Nawada divisional forest officer (DFO) Shresth Kumar Krishna told ETV Bharat.
The problem started on March 26, when a huge herd of 28 elephants moved from Koderma district in Jharkhand to Nawada and trampled a villager to death. It was the start of a seesaw battle between the two states.
The Nawada forest department officials would drive the herd back to Jharkhand and their counterparts would chase them again towards Bihar. The frequency increased when a lone rogue elephant started creating havoc.
"A lone elephant is a violent, cruel and usually sexually active animal. It could run at a speed of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour. This one is around 15 to 20 years old and powerful. We have been chasing it back to Koderma in Jharkhand every night since April 26. The forest officials from Koderma again push it to our side," Shresth said.
The DFO pointed out that the forested areas in Nawada are small and sparse and the villages are located on its fringes compared to Koderma, making the inhabitants more vulnerable to risks posed by the tuskers.
Incidentally, Bihar has no resident elephants in its forests. At times, a few of them venture from forests in Nepal, Jharkhand and West Bengal, especially during summer, when water becomes scarce.
"We have been requesting our counterparts in Koderma to move the elephants towards Giridih district in their state, but they are still being sent to Nawada every night. Seeing no solution in sight, we keep driving them back. In fact, we told them that if it was really necessary to push the animals towards our area, then Rajuali (Nawada district) would be a better option. The forest area is bigger there and would give us a day’s time to respond before the elephants move toward human habitations,” Shresth said.
Pointing out that the elephants have been moving in a traditional corridor between Ranchi and Odisha for ages, he said the root cause behind the problem was that it has been disrupted due to mining activities, construction of roads and other infrastructure in Jharkhand, as well as the use of 'Kumki' elephants to control the wild elephants.
Kumki elephants are specially-trained elephants used to manage human-wildlife conflict by capturing, driving, guiding or calming rogue elephants. The wild elephants are afraid of them and run away upon seeing them.
Jharkhand has introduced around 20 Kumki elephants along the elephant corridor between Ranchi and Odisha to control the menace posed by wild elephants and save human lives, as well as crops.
As another side effect of the elephant menace prevailing in Nawada district, the DFO fell and tore a ligament in one of his legs while chasing elephants last month. He had to undergo 15 days of bed rest to recover. Four members of his team have also been injured during the daily chases.
Asked about the problem of wild elephants being pushed by Jharkhand forest department officials, Bihar's additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF)–cum–chief wildlife warden Abhay Kumar told ETV Bharat: “We had discussed it with our Jharkhand counterparts earlier, but not in the past two or three months. I will seek a report on the issue from our officials on the ground and take suitable action.”
Asserting that elephants neither understand political borders nor can be confined to them, Abhay added that they normally use corridors that they have been traditionally using for their movement. It is done in the same pattern and region unless there is some obstruction.
“There is one issue in Jharkhand. Mining activities – legal or illegal – have increased there. I do not have concrete evidence or data, but it is there. When such activities increase, elephants stray. The noise pollution and human interference make them violent and destructive. When loss of habitat happens, everybody has to suffer. This is what seems to be happening,” the APCCF said.
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