Man-animal conflict claims 5 lives in 48 hours in Jharkhand
TUGOFWAR 277 people and 40 elephants have been killed in the past five years
Five people were killed in the past 48 hours while two elephants lost their lives as a result of the man-animal conflict that continues unabated in Jharkhand.
The latest casualty occurred in Bundu, around 40km from Ranchi, where a wild pachyderm trampled to death 67-year-old Maheshwar Mahato on Wednesday evening. The same elephant had killed 60-year-old Sambhu Lohra in the afternoon. The elephant, forest officials said, separated from its herd a week ago and had since gone berserk, attacking villagers at will.
Bundu forest ranger Ranvir Singh said Lohra was returning to his village Shyam Nagar from a weekly market when the elephant attacked him. “The tusker, who left the Tetla forest at around 4pm, accosted Lohra in the Joikya Garha area. The old man could not escape and the elephant crushed him to death,” he said. The elephant, which was on his way to West Bengal, reached Birdihdih a few hours later where it came across Mahato, who was returning to his field.
Shocked at the sight of the elephant, Mahato tried to flee but the elephant chased him and trampled him to death.
Forest officials said the families of the deceased would be given ₹4 lakh each as compensation. “For immediate relief, a cheque of ₹50,000 was handed over,” Singh said.
In all, 277 people have lost their lives due to man-elephant conflict in the past five years. Forest officials said roughly 40 elephants also died during the period.
Recently, a herd killed 60-yearold Maha Hansda in Hazaribag’s Churchu block. Hansda was herding his cattle in a nearby jungle when the herd attacked him.
On Tuesday, two Bihar shepherds were trampled to death while four managed to escape the jumbos’ attack in Gumla. The rising conflict has claimed the lives of 59 people every year on an average in the past one decade. The highest casualty was recorded in 2011, when 69 people died.
On the other hand, the jumbo death rate is also on the rise in Jharkhand. Two elephants were killed in less than a week, while 13 have lost their lives this year in the tribal state. A seven-year-old male tusker was found dead in a pond in Khunti’s Torpa block on November 12. Villagers had cut a part of one of his tusks, around 2.5 inches, which was later recovered by forest officials.
On November 10, a 16-year-old female elephant died of shock causing cardiac arrest hours after having her maiden intercourse in Sidma Kudar village.
State wildlife board member DS Srivastava said the state forest department had failed to check man-elephant conflicts. “Scarcity of food such as bamboo, kajhi and khair in Jharkhand forests have forced elephants to intrude into villages,” he said.
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