Wild elephants trample man to death

RAIPUR - A herd of five wild elephants trampled a disabled man to death and brought down six houses in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, a forest department official said Tuesday.

Kenda, 65, was caught in the chaos as the pachyderms attacked his neighbourhood in Arda village of the district, around 450 km from state capital Raipur, and pulled down houses, scattering the residents.

However Kenda, who was disabled, could not escape and was crushed to death, a forest official told IANS over phone from Ambikapur, headquarters of the district.

He said that the wild jumbos were still roaming in a forest in Pratapur area of the district, forcing locals to shift to safer areas temporarily.

Chhattisgarh’s vast northern region, comprising Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts, have recorded a sharp rise in man-elephant conflicts in recent months.

The state government regularly pays compensation for loss of human lives around forest areas and for damage caused to houses and crops by wild elephants.