Man killed in elephant attack in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district

Korba: A 60-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district, officials said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night at Thadpakhan village under Pali forest sub-range when Mewa Ram Dhanuhar was at his house, said Kumar Nishant, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Katghora forest division.

On sensing the presence of the tusker, the man went to his vegetable garden behind the house but came face to face with the pachyderm, he said.

The elephant caught hold of Dhanuhar with its trunk and trampled him to death, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the same tusker had attacked and killed a bull in nearby Mudabhata village, he said.

Soon after being alerted about the man’s death, forest and police personnel reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem, he said.

The kin of the deceased were provided an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 while the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be given after completing formalities, the official added.

Teams of forest personnel have been keeping a tab on the movement of the tusker which has been moving towards the Chotia range, the DFO said.

Human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of Chhattisgarh have been a major cause for concern over the past decade. The problem has now spread to some districts in the state’s central region in the last few years.

Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur and Kanker districts have been reporting such attacks.

According to the forest department, around 310 people have been killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last five years.

Last month, three women were killed in two places in Korba district by an elephant, officials said.