A 65-year-old villager was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants on a national highway in Korba district of Chhattisgarh, a Forest Department official said on Thursday.
Tilsingh Gond of Gursian Jhaliyamuda village was attacked on National Highway 130 on Wednesday night, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katghora Shama Farooqui said.
Gond was returning home after meeting some relatives in another village when he encountered the herd crossing the road.The victim and another villager, Akbar, were pushing the former’s two-wheeler which had run out of petrol, she said. While Akbar escaped, Gond was trampled to death.
At least 50 elephants in separate herds are roaming in Etamanagar, Kendai and Pasan forest range of the Katghora forest division, she said.
An immediate relief of Rs 25,000 was given to the victim’s family. The remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be disbursed later, she added.
Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported from the thickly forested northern Chhattisgarh comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.