Woman dies of elephant attack in Angul, second fatality due to human-animal conflict in December

A woman died after allegedly being attacked by an elephant inside the Chhendipada forest area of Angul district in Odisha on Wednesday.

The deceased has been identified as Mandiri Sahu, a resident of Patakumunda village in the region.

According to sources, Sahu was on her way to harvest paddy in a nearby field when an elephant charged at her. The attack was so severe that she died on the spot.

Sahu’s death sparked tension among the villagers, who gheraoed the site of the attack early Wednesday and staged a sit-in against the Forest department, putting forward their demands.

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Sources added that the residents have demanded better safety measures to protect their lives and livelihoods from recurring elephant threats as well as adequate compensation for the deceased’s family.

The news of this fatality resulting from an elephant attack came just about a week after another person died of jumbo attack at Bandhanpali village under the Dholamunda section of the Kantabanji forest range in Bolangir.

Meanwhile, Odisha has also officially reported that the cases of human-elephant conflicts have risen in the past few years.

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On November 26, Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia stated in the State Legislative Assembly that over the past three years, elephant attacks claimed 668 lives and injured 509 people.