Gemstone hunting proves fatal, 2 die in Odisha forest

Two persons died reportedly due to suffocation while searching for gemstones in a forest well in Odisha's Bolangir district. The deceased have been identified as Naveen Jani of Gulami village and Ujjala Bhoi of Nuapada.

As per reports, a group of four people launched a trip to Tikhari forest in search of gemstones. They reportedly carried out a search in a well, stated to have been dug for mining gemstones. 

While two of them died due to suffocation, two others named Chinta Bag and Rajkishore Padhani were rescued in a critical condition from the spot and later admitted to a nearby hospital.

Irate over the incident, locals later staged a protest demanding compensation for the families of the deceased. They also alleged rampant mining in the forest and apathy of the local administration towards putting an end to the illegal activities in the woods.

The administration should have taken note of it as mining for gemstones has been going on in the region for the last several months. Quarrying activities are also creating a lot of problems for animals in the forest, said a local resident.

"We demand Rs 20 lakh compensation to the family of each deceased. We will continue our protest till compensation is not announced by the forest department or the government," he said.

However, Titilagarh SDPO, Surendranath Satapathy said, "The incident occurred in dense forest. As per the family members of the deceased, they (the deceased duo) were digging in the forest for gemstones." 

"The incident has taken place for the first time under the Tikhari reserve forest area. We had no earlier information of any digging work being done in the forest," said Premlal Hiala, Titilagarh Tehsildar.