Tension ran high at Rasasingh village in Dhenkanal district on Sunday morning after a villager was mauled by a herd of elephants.
Irate locals blocked the National Highway-55 connecting Cuttack with Sambalpur placing the body of the deceased, identified as Birabara Parida, on the road and demanding compensation for the family members of the deceased. They also demanded a permanent solution to the elephant menace in the area, which they said has already taken a heavy toll of life and property.
The angry villagers also damaged a jeep belonging to the Forest Department. Two elephant herds had engaged themselves in a fight on the banks of river Brahmani near Baulopur under Dhenkanal Sadar Forest Range leading to the death of an elephant calf. While retreating from the place of the duel, one of the herds attacked and killed Birabara, villagers said. The villagers are angry at the failure of the administration to prevent such attacks, which have become frequent in the recent past. Another person belonging to the same area had been killed in an elephant attack on December 28, they point out.