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3 elephants died due to electrocution in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh: Forest officials
Forest officers said that prima facie it seems that the elephants came in contact with an 11 KV power transmission line of a state-run power company
Three elephants, including a calf, were electrocuted to death after coming in contact with a power line in a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district on Saturday, officials said on Saturday.
Forest officers said that prima facie it seems that the elephants came in contact with an 11 KV (kilovolt) power transmission line of a state-run power company in Chuhkimar forest under the Tamnar forest range.
Stylo Mandavi, divisional forest officer (DFO), Raigarh division, said that the incident took place on Friday night and the forest personnel rushed to the spot after the department came to know about the incident.
“A team of veterinarians conducted the post-mortem, and the incident will be probed by the forest department,” said the officer.
According to officials, Chhattisgarh has reported the death of more than 70 elephants in the last six years, with causes ranging from ailments and age to electrocution. As per the figures of the state forest department, total 13 elephants have died due to electrocution in the year 2024.
Human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of the state have been a major cause of concern in the last decade. Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, and Balrampur are some districts facing the menace.
Human-elephant conflicts have been a growing concern in Chhattisgarh, with the state reporting 104 human deaths and 243 crop damage cases due to elephant attacks in 2022 alone.
According to the forest department, over 300 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last five years.
