Keonjhar: Residents of several villages in the district continue to face the fury of a stray elephant, which has allegedly attacked and killed as many as eight persons in last one-and-half months. However, much to the frustration of the locals, the forest authorities have failed in effectively containing the menace.
According to sources, one more person was allegedly trampled to death by the tusker at Sankari village under B.J.P. forest range in the district on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred while some locals were trying to drive away the jumbo from entering their village. One Binod Dehury allegedly came under the attack of the pachyderm and was trampled to death on the spot.
Local residents said that the tusker has so far reportedly injured over 15 other persons in the region and damaged over 100 houses. The panic has forced people to spend nights on tree houses despite inclement weather.
Alleging apathetic attitude by the forest authorities, the local people have expressed displeasure over the former's helplessness in dispersing the frantic elephant.
“Though we repeatedly informed the forest officials about the chaos created by the elephant, they are yet to assess the situation in our village. We are also requesting them to give us fire crackers and lights so that we can drive away the jumbo ourselves but they are not giving us anything,” alleged a local resident Radhakanta Dehury.
On the other hand, Ranger of Keonjhar Sadar, Muktikanra Parida said, “We will deploy a squad and mobile team here so that they can monitor the situation and take action accordingly to ward off the elephant.