Another jumbo dies on track

Elephants’ death on the railway tracks continuing, another died on Haridwar-Dehradun tracks near Motichur forest range just four kms ahead of Raiwala junction on Tuesday, the fourth such death over the past one and half year. It is learnt that female elephant aged around 34 years was mowed down by speeding Kathgodam Express around midnight. The forest officers claimed that they had warned the loco pilot of the jumbo movement around the tracks and asked him to bring down the speed of the train sufficiently, a warning which the loco pilot refused to heed. However, the wild life lovers rejected such claims, saying that it was nothing but the long-continuing pass the buck game.

It is further learnt that a team of doctors was rushed to the spot where the jumbo was lying injured immediately after the incident, but it succumbed around 5 am.

Quizzed over continuation of such on the track deaths of the elephants, the principal chief conservator of forests, Uttarakhand, Jai Raj termed the death very unfortunate. “We are all deeply sad and an emergency meeting has been called on Wednesday where the officers of Wildlife Institute of India would be present. We would discuss things threadbare and a strategy would be chalked out to stop recurrence of such unfortunate deaths. We would find out whether forest patrolling is continuing and whether there is a breach in our , coordination with the railway officials,” he said.


To read the full article, click on the story title.

Man killed by elephant in Odisha, India

In another incident of man-animal conflict in Odisha, a daily wage laborer was killed in elephant attack at Gengutia under Sadar police limits in Dhenkanal district on Saturday.

The deceased identified as Sushant Behera of Gengutia village was on his way to Dhenkanal town along with two other co-workers, when a pachyderm attacked the trio near the level crossing.

While the two labourers managed to escape from the spot, Sushant was trampled to death by the wild elephant, sources said.

"Since last five years, the land here is not being used for agricultural purpose as elephants are destroying standing crops. We had earlier requested the forest department to at least alarm us when elephants are straying near the human settlements. But they do not even bother if we inform them about the movement of jumbos in the area," alleged Ranjan Mallick, a local resident.

Sources said a herd of elephants was spotted near the area earlier this week.

"I had no information about the movement of elephant herd in the area. But as the locals are alleging about the presence of the elephants, so squads will deployed here soon," said Dhenkanal Range officer, Darshan Bhoi refuting the allegations of dereliction of duties by forest officials.

A sum of Rs 40,000 will be given to the family of the deceased now and the remaining assistance of Rs 3,60,000 will be provided after the victim's family submits necessary documents, he added.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.sott.net/article/387166-Man-killed-by-elephant-in-Odisha-India

Man killed by elephant in Odisha, India

In another incident of man-animal conflict in Odisha, a daily wage labourer was killed in elephant attack at Gengutia under Sadar police limits in Dhenkanal district on Saturday.

The deceased identified as Sushant Behera of Gengutia village was on his way to Dhenkanal town along with two other co-workers, when a pachyderm attacked the trio near the level crossing.

While the two labourers managed to escape from the spot, Sushant was trampled to death by the wild elephant, sources said.

"Since last five years, the land here is not being used for agricultural purpose as elephants are destroying standing crops. We had earlier requested the forest department to at least alarm us when elephants are straying near the human settlements. But they do not even bother if we inform them about the movement of jumbos in the area," alleged Ranjan Mallick, a local resident.

Sources said a herd of elephants was spotted near the area earlier this week.

"I had no information about the movement of elephant herd in the area. But as the locals are alleging about the presence of the elephants, so squads will deployed here soon," said Dhenkanal Range officer, Darshan Bhoi refuting the allegations of dereliction of duties by forest officials.

A sum of Rs 40,000 will be given to the family of the deceased now and the remaining assistance of Rs 3,60,000 will be provided after the victim's family submits necessary documents, he added.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.sott.net/article/387166-Man-killed-by-elephant-in-Odisha-India

Elderly man killed by wild elephants in C'garh

An elderly man lost his life after he was attacked by a herd of wild elephants in a village in Surjapur district in northern Chhattisgarh, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday.


This is the third incident in the last four days in the northern region of the state, in which an elephant or a group of them killed a human being.

"The incident took place yesterday when the victim identified as Mansai (65) had gone to pick mahua fruits in Sakalpur village forest under Pratappur forest range," Sub Divisional Officer (Pratappur forest range) Prabhakar Khalko said.

There, he was attacked by a herd of wild elephants. When some villagers working in the fields adjacent to the site informed the forest and police officials about the incident, they rushed to the spot, she said.

The wife of the deceased was given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, while the remaining compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh will be released after completing the necessary formalities, Khalko added.

The movement of a group of 60 jumbos is being reported in the area from the last few days. The chances of human-animal conflict increase during this season as villagers go in the forest areas to pluck tendu leaves as well as mahua fruits.

On April 9, a 50-year-old man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Pratappur forest range.

Similarly, on Sunday (April 8), a 62-year-old farmer was killed in an elephant attack in Dharamjaigarh forest division of the region's Raigarh district.

"After the recent incidents, the villagers have been advised to take precautions and stay alert," she said.

The thickly-forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, are notorious for incidents of human-elephant conflict.

The region has witnessed killings of several people and damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in the last few years.

 Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/elderly-man-killed-by-wild-elephants-in-c-garh-118041100554_1.html

Wild elephant kills farmer in Cgarh

Raigarh, Apr 9 (PTI)�A wild elephant killed an elderly farmer in Chhattisagrhs Raigarh district, Forest officials said today.

The incident occurred last evening in Purunga village forest under Chhal forest range when Roopsai Agariya was headed towards his paddy field, said Dharamjaigarh Division Forest Officer (DFO) Paranay�Mishra.

Agariya came face-to-face with the pachyderm who chased and attacked him with its trunk, killing him on the spot, he said.

On receiving information, forest and police personnel rushed to the spot and sent Agariyas body for postmortem.

The kin of the deceased have been given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the Forest department, the DFO said.

"The movement of a group of 14 jumbos has been reported in the area for the last few days. Therefore, the villagers have been advised to take precautions and stay alert while passing through jungles," he said.

The thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, is notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants in recent years.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/wild-elephant-kills-farmer-in-cgarh-1208504-2018-04-09

Jumbo worry on highway in Angul

Travelling on the National Highway No. 55 between the district and Angul has become a troublesome affair as elephants are often spotted crossing the road at three points resulting in traffic snarl.

Officials had earlier said the jumbos blocked the highway once or twice a week. But for the past one week, it has been noticed that the herds have been crossing the road almost every day during the evening hours.

Forest officials said the elephants generally travelled between Hindol and Kamakhayanagar. They have been noticed crossing the highway at three points - Rasasingha, Gunadeipur and Haldiabahal.

Assistant conservator of Dhenkanal forest J.N. Dash said 124 elephants crossed the road on Tuesday, blocking the traffic for two hours in the evening. On Wednesday, 44 elephants crossed from east to west side, disrupting the traffic for three hours. "We are monitoring the jumbo movements. Almost every day, they come from the Hindol side to the Brahamani river area and return at night in large or small groups. During the movement, they cross the national highway," he said.

Dash said that no untoward incidents had been reported yet. "There is no solution to the problem except that we regulate their movements on highway," he said.

Animal lovers are worried over the issue as the national highway would be expanded shortly. Divisional forest officer R. Kumari said: "We are aware of the difficulties, so we have suggested to construct underpass for the movement of elephants at the time of expansion."

 Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/jumbo-worry-on-highway-in-angul-217958