Separated from herd, elephant kills 4 in Jharkhand
Separated from herd, elephant kills 4 in Jharkhand
Mukesh Ranjan, The New Indian Express
March 29, 2025
See link
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Mar/29/separated-from-herd-elephant-kills-4-in-jharkhand
for photo.
RANCHI: Even though a slew of measures have been taken to minimise the
man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, there seems to be no respite.
An elephant, believed to be separated from its herd, trampled four people
to death in Jharkhand’s Gumla and Simdega districts within 12 hours between
Thursday and Friday, officials said.
The lone elephant, said to be furious, has wrought havoc in the Bano region
of Simdega. The victims have been identified as Christopher Ekka (60) and
Hemvati Devi (35) from Gumla’s Palkot and Sibiraya Lugun (45 ) and Vikas
Ohdar (28) of Simdega’s Bano.
The elephant was first seen in the Bano area of Simdega, where it killed
two people. Lugun had gone to collect mahua flowers from the jungles of
Pabuda Panchayat in the Bano police station area when she got trampled by
the elephant.
The elephant also attacked Ohdar at his house and killed him. Two other
people, Ajay Minj and Imil Ba, were also badly injured in the incident and
have been admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Later, the giant mammal claimed two more lives in the area falling under
the limits of the Palkot police station in Gumla.
Ekka had left his house to answer a call of nature when he got crushed by
the pachyderm. Devi was killed by the elephant when she ventured into the
jungles near Tetartoli to collect lac.
The elephant has terrorised the areas. Locals believe the animal has been
specifically chasing and killing people. People are avoiding stepping out
of home so that they don’t encounter the elephant. But they say they don’t
feel safe at home either.
The local residents have called on the Forest Department to shift the
elephant to a safer zone. Locals fear that if the authorities concerned
fail to take prompt action, more lives will be lost.
Meanwhile, forest officials have urged the villagers to steer clear of the
wild elephant. Firecrackers and torches are being distributed among locals
to help them scare elephants away from the areas populated by humans. A
team of forest officials is monitoring the area.
Besides, the Forest Department has provided 10,000 each to the kin of the victims as immediate relief. The Jharkhand government provides a sum of 4
lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in elephant attacks.
Government data shows that out of the total 24 districts in the state, 20
have elephants, leading to an average of 80 human deaths and around 150
injuries every year.
Man-elephant conflict claims 80 lives a year
Govt data shows, out of the 24 districts in the state, 20 have elephants,
causing an average of 80 human deaths and 150 injuries annually
The Jharkhand government provides a sum of `4 lakh as compensation to the
families of those killed in jumbo attacks
Firecrackers and torches are being distributed among locals to help them
scare elephants away from areas inhabited by humans and cultivation lands
In this particular instance, the elephant, said to be separated from its
herd, trampled 4 to death in Gumla and Simdega districts within 12 hours
The victims have been identified as Christopher Ekka and Hemvati Devi from
Gumla, and Sibiraya Lugun and Vikas Ohdar of Simdega
The state forest department has provided Rs 10,000 each to the kin of the
victims as immediate relief.