Woman trampled to death by elephant in Angul, locals stage road blockade

Tension gripped Angul district on Wednesday after a woman was killed in an elephant attack, triggering protests and road blockades by local residents. Agitators gathered at Bantala Chhak, set tyres on fire and blocked traffic, disrupting vehicular movement on the Angul–Tikarpada road and the old Cuttack–Sambalpur highway for several hours.

The protest was sparked by allegations of negligence on the part of the Forest Department in checking frequent elephant intrusions into residential areas. Villagers demanded immediate compensation for the victim’s family and effective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

The incident occurred at Saharaguda village under Bantala panchayat in the Angul forest division. The victim, identified as Sumanta Behera, was attacked by a tusker while fetching water from a tube well near her house and died on the spot after sustaining severe injuries.

Following the incident, traffic snarls were reported on key routes connecting Angul with Tikarpada and Sambalpur. Police and forest officials rushed to the spot and held discussions with the protesters to restore normalcy.

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Officials said steps were being taken to clear the roads and normal traffic was expected to resume soon. The Forest Department assured that assistance would be provided to the victim’s family and that measures would be strengthened to monitor elephant movement and reduce human-wildlife conflict in the area.