TV
A man was killed after he was reportedly attacked by an elephant while trying to drive the pachyderm away into the wild at Jamaloi village under the Padiabahal forest range of Sambalpur forest division. The victim has been identified as Purnachandra Dehuri.
According to sources, a herd of elephants strayed into the village on Thursday night to feed on the standing crops. In a bid to save their crops, the villagers tried to drive the elephants back into the forest.
After driving away the wild herd, the villagers returned home. However, Dehuri came face-to-face with an elephant that trampled him to death. The matter came to the fore after his body was found near the village.
The villagers promptly informed officials from the forest department, who arrived to conduct an investigation. This incident follows a similar tragedy on the 18th of the month, where a farmer in Hatibari was trampled by elephants that had entered the paddy fields.
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Authorities from the forest department are now reviewing the situation, aiming to develop strategies to prevent future tragedies. This comes a few days after three elephants, including two adults, were found dead owing to electrocution in the Naktideula forest range, also in Sambalpur district.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of the death of the elephants, the Orissa High Court directed the personal appearance of PCCF-Wildlife on November 26. Initiating suo motu proceedings, the division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho directed the PCCF Susanta Nanda to be present and furnish to the court the number of deaths of elephants in Odisha reported from 2020 till date disclosing the known reasons for their deaths by way of an affidavit.
The PCCF will also disclose in the affidavit the steps taken to investigate the cause behind the death of the three elephants.
