Four farmers trampled to death by elephant in western Odisha

Wildlife activists said deforestation, large-scale mining and quarrying, industrialisation, destructions of elephant corridors and irrigation canals have led to the increasing number of encounters with humans.

Four farmers in western Odisha districts of Bargarh and Balangir were trampled to death by one wild elephant in two separate incidents on Wednesday morning, said forest officials.

Odisha forest department officials said the same tusker, part of a herd, had trampled a farmer in Bargarh district five days ago.

In Balangir district, farmer Biranchi Sahu (55) was attacked by an elephant at Darlipali under Loisingha Forest range when he was collecting mangoes.

Another tusker that had strayed from a herd had killed three farmers in Gaisilet Range of Bargarh district a few hours ago. Farmers Mala Seth (54) and Biranchi Kumbhar (56) of Umrad village and Siba Seth (60) of Nathpali village were out of their home to relieve themselves when attacked by the elephant, claimed a forest official. Tension gripped the area following the incident.

Forest department officials said the same tusker, part of a herd, had trampled a farmer in Bargarh district five days ago.

Wild elephants in Odisha have killed 633 people in the last seven years between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2021. The state has already reported 12 human deaths this month alone.

In October last year, the state forest and wildlife department formed a taskforce and asked it to prepare a master plan to reduce man-animal conflict over the next three years. The idea was to have a long-term plan instead of a knee-jerk reaction every time such a conflict occurs and to prioritise the resources adequately. The taskforce was supposed to give its suggestion within six weeks of its formation. However, the forest secretary did not respond to the queries whether the task force had submitted its recommendations.

“Odisha’s forest department has done little to stem the rise in conflict. They are clueless... All mitigation plans provided by experts over the last two decades remain largely on paper,” alleged Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife expert.