Elephants enter house, trample elderly woman fatally in Chhattisgarh's Korba

An 84-year-old woman, who was asleep inside her house, was attacked and trampled to death by wild elephants in Pangawa village in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, a forest official said. As other members escaped to safety, the elephants started eating millets stored in a room.

Korba (Chhattisgarh) : An 84-year-old woman was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in a village in Korba district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, a forest official said. Son Kunwar was attacked by the elephants while she was asleep inside her house in Pangawa village panchayat under Pasan forest range, said Kumar Nishant, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Katghora forest division.

A herd of around 42 elephants strayed into Baigapara, a settlement close to the village on the hill, in the wee hours of the day. Some pachyderms destroyed and entered the victim's house and started eating millets stored in a room, he said. While other family members managed to escape from the house, Kunwar, who was sleeping in the same room, was trampled to death, he said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided a relief of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation will be given after completion of the necessary formalities, the official added. "The herd has been roaming in the area for the last several days and villagers were alerted about it. Of the 42 elephants, 35 headed towards Pali village panchayat from Pangawa, this morning, while seven separated and moved towards Korbi forest area after the incident," the DFO said.

Forest personnel have been deployed to keep a tab on the movement of elephants, he added. On Sunday, two women were killed and a man was injured in an attack by an elephant in the dumping area of Chotia coal mine in the same Katghora forest division. Human-elephant conflicts in the state, particularly in the northern part, have been a cause for concern for the last decade. The menace has gradually spread to some districts in the central region in the last few years.

Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur and Kanker are the districts facing the menace.
According to the forest department, more than 230 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last three years. (PTI)