Elephants killed six in Chhattisgarh in 2010

RAIPUR - Wild elephants trampled six people to death in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district this year, Forest Minister Vikram Usendi said Wednesday.

“As many as six people were killed and 527 houses destroyed by elephants this year,” the minister said in a written reply to Congress legislator Premsai Singh Tekam.

Usendi said the government paid Rs.1 million as compensation to each family which lost a member in the elephant attacks. Over Rs.5 million was paid to people whose houses were brought down.

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