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Elephants trample man to death

BERHAMPUR: A herd of wild elephants trampled a person to death near Rambha in Ganjam district in the wee hours of Friday.

The angry residents of Rambha blocked the NH 5 for around six hours demanding compensation to the family of the deceased. The deceased was identified as Abhi Parida (45) of Rambha town. He and some others went to their paddy fields on Thursday night to shoo away the herd of elephants that was destroying the standing crop in the area. The tragedy occurred near Golgandapalli village.

According to sources, the rechargeable torches used by the group of farmers got discharged and the burning tyres held by them also got extinguished, while they were busy driving away the elephants. Taking advantage of darkness, the wild pachyderms retaliated and attacked the group. Abhi became a victim of their wrath.

The residents of Rambha, whose paddy fields are being damaged by the elephant herd, alleged that the forest officials and administration had failed to check the elephant menace, which was a major headache for farmers already hit by low rainfall and pests. Khallikote Forest Range Officer Akhaya Kumar Dwivedi said accidents like this occur because the farmers did not obey the basic directives of the forest officials regarding process of shooing away wild elephants from an area.

The inhabitants of Rambha blocked the NH 5 from 8 a.m. It continued till 2 p.m. Additional District Magistrate Madan Mohan Deo reached the spot to hold discussions with the angry protestors. They could be pacified with the promise of proper compensation for the family of the victim and provision of employment to the son of the deceased by the Forest Department. Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer A.K. Jena said the elephant herd was the one that had strayed from the Chandaka elephant sanctuary near Bhubaneswar more than one-and-half year ago.

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