Woman Killed By Elephant In Chhattisgarh; Son, Villager Injured

Bilaspur: Amid rising incidents of human-elephant conflict in Chhattisgarh, a tusker killed a woman and injured two others, including her 12-year-old son, in Bilaspur district on Thursday.

The elephant attacked Kumari Bai and her 13-year-old son while they were guarding paddy in the backyard of their house in Khaprakhol village. After this, the elephant attacked a villager in Dhuripara Ponsra village.

While the woman died on the spot, her son, who suffered a hip fracture, and the villager, are currently undergoing treatment at the CIMS hospital. Both the teenager and the villager are stated to be stable, an official of the forest department said.

Locals said the elephant first entered Khaprakhol village from the direction of the Baima pond at around 5 pm and before they could realise what was happening, the tusker walked to the backyard of Ledhwaram Yadav's house, where his wife and son were guarding the paddy. From here, the elephant reached Dhuripara Ponsra village and attacked a villager there.

Upon information from villagers, a forest department team reached the Dhuripara Ponsra village but villagers alleged that the team arrived at the scene late.

Bilaspur Ranger Shubham said the elephant has moved towards the Limha-Dhoramuda forest. "A team of forest personnel is continuously monitoring the elephant's movement. The elephant had reached Ponsra via Nargoda and Panya. The tusker is being continuously tracked and monitored. People in areas, through which the elephant is crossing, are being alerted," he said.

Meanwhile, increasing elephant attacks have triggered panic among villagers and questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the patrolling and security arrangements.

At least 320 people have been killed in elephant attacks in the last five years. Human-elephant conflict has been a major cause of concern in Chhattisgarh, especially in the northern and central areas.

Chhattisgarh forest department said most elephant-affected districts are Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur, and Kanker. Approximately 320 people have died in elephant attacks in the state in the last five years, the official added.

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