Chhattisgarh: Man trampled to death by elephant in Surajpur

A 35-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarhs Surajpur district, taking the count of such fatalities to 12 so far this month, officials said.The incident took place on Tuesday night when the victim, Narayan Pawle, a native of Sarhari village under Pratappur forest range, was heading to his home on a bicycle, a forest official said.

A 35-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, taking the count of such fatalities to 12 so far this month, officials said.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when the victim, Narayan Pawle, a native of Sarhari village under Pratappur forest range, was heading to his home on a bicycle, a forest official said. Pawle came face to face with a jumbo near the village and was trampled to death, he said.

As the news of the incident spread, locals staged a protest and blocked Podi-Pratappur road, blaming the forest department for the death. However, they were later pacified by forest and district administration officials.

The kin of the deceased were provided an immediate aid of Rs 25,000 each, while the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be disbursed on completion of necessary formalities, the official said.

With this, 12 people have been killed in elephant attacks in different districts of Chhattisgarh so far this month.

As per government records, 204 people were killed in elephant attacks, while 45 jumbos died in the state in the last three years.

Last week, state Forest Minister Mohammad Akbar chaired a meeting with officials and had directed them to take stern action under the Wildlife Protection Act against people who deliberately go close to elephants or their herds despite being warned by forest staffers. The minister had directed officers of all the departments to seriously address the issue of human-elephant conflict and take coordinated steps to control it, an official said.

Akbar had also asked divisional forest officers (DFOs) to submit a proposal to name herds of elephants roaming in their respective jurisdiction for effective monitoring of their movement, they said. According to officials, the movement of at least 266 elephants in 14 herds has been recently reported from different parts of the state, especially Surajpur, Raigarh, Mahasamund, Korba, Balrampur, Jashpur, Balod districts.