A 55-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharat district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday night, a forest official said on Sunday. The victim, Rajkumari, was asleep with her husband, Viran Singh, at their farm in Jaraundha village when the elephant attacked. Rajkumari was killed instantly, while her husband managed to escape.
Forest officials reached the spot and sent the body for a post-mortem. The victim's family was given relief of Rs 25,000, and the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be disbursed after the completion of necessary formalities.
The incident is the latest in a series of human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of the state. Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, and Balrampur are some of the districts that have been affected by the menace.
The increasing human-elephant conflict in the state is a result of the shrinking elephant habitat and the increasing demand for land for agriculture and development projects. The government has taken some measures to mitigate the conflict, such as creating elephant corridors and providing compensation to victims, but more needs to be done to address this issue.
Earlier in January, a woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Jhikki village, Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh. The incident took place when Phulbaso Bai was collecting wood in the forest. She encountered the elephant, who attacked and killed her. The police and forest personnel reached the spot and sent the body for a post-mortem.
Phulbaso Bai's relatives have been provided a relief of Rs. 25,000. The remaining compensation of Rs. 5.75 lakh will be disbursed after the completion of necessary formalities.
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