Odisha: Villagers stage protest after elephant tramples woman to death

  • | Thursday | 19th July, 2018

Villagers alleged that a tribal woman, identified as Meena Singh (35), had gone to the nearby forest to collect firewood on Wednesday evening and did not return. Only after arrival of the report, we will be able to say whether she was killed by elephant or not,” said forest official, R Mishra. We also drive away elephants by bursting crackers and other ways,” added Mishra.Notably, on July 9 residents of Barapada village in Choudwar had staged similar agitation after elephant had killed a calf and damaged crops in the region. CUTTACK: Tension prevailed in Badapokhari village under Tangi police limits on Thursday after a woman was allegedly trampled to death by an elephant.Angry over the incident, villagers staged agitation and blocked road for over three hours. The agitators demanded concrete steps by the forest department to drive away the elephants and compensation for the deceased’s family.To control the situation police officials, officials from district administration and forest department rushed to the spot.

CUTTACK: Tension prevailed in Badapokhari village under Tangi police limits on Thursday after a woman was allegedly trampled to death by an elephant.Angry over the incident, villagers staged agitation and blocked road for over three hours. Villagers alleged that a tribal woman, identified as Meena Singh (35), had gone to the nearby forest to collect firewood on Wednesday evening and did not return. Villagers and family searched for her and found her body on Thursday morning near the forest.The villagers claimed that Meena was trampled to death by an elephant and demanded compensation for her bereaved family.“There were footprints of an elephant near the body and the injury marks on the woman also clearly reflect that she was killed by the pachyderm,” said Gopal Singh, a villager“A herd of elephants have been wreaking havoc in our village and nearby areas, still the forest officials are doing nothing to drive them away,” added Singh.Irate villagers staged a road blockade on Tangi-Kapilas road by burning tyres. Due to the protest vehicular movement on the stretch was affected. The agitators demanded concrete steps by the forest department to drive away the elephants and compensation for the deceased’s family.To control the situation police officials, officials from district administration and forest department rushed to the spot. To pacify the agitators, an immediate compensation of Rs 50,000 was given to the bereaved family. “The body has been sent for postmortem. Only after arrival of the report, we will be able to say whether she was killed by elephant or not,” said forest official, R Mishra. If it appears in the report that the woman was trampled to death by elephant, then the bereaved family will get a compensation of Rs 4 lakh.Meanwhile, the forest officials have claimed that measures are being taken to drive away elephants from the region. “Our personnel are keeping vigil in the forest areas. We also drive away elephants by bursting crackers and other ways,” added Mishra.Notably, on July 9 residents of Barapada village in Choudwar had staged similar agitation after elephant had killed a calf and damaged crops in the region.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Cuttack headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles