A 56-year-old tribal man was killed, two minor girls were injured and several houses were damaged when a herd of wild elephants went on rampage at Benapatia village within the Tamka Forest Range in Jajpur district on Sunday evening. The deceased was identified as Benudhar Siddhu of Benapatia village.
“On Monday, we paid Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the deceased’s widow Kuni Siddhu,” said Tamka Forest Range Officer Ghanashyama Mudali.
The elephants entered Benapatia and its adjoining villages from the nearby Mahagiri Reserve Forest and damaged the houses. Farmers reported that the animals also caused extensive damages to their paddy crops during the harvesting season and this has been happening on a regular basis.