In yet another case of tusker menace, a 40-year-old man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at the foothills of Dalma in Gerua village under Bodam police station area of Patamda. The victim identified as Ghasiram Murmu was going on his cycle towards Mango from his house at Chirugora village in Patamda and he fell victim to the herd of killer tuskers. The victim's mutilated body was found lying on a road at Gerua village. He was a truck driver by profession.
Forest range officer (Dalma) Mangal Kachhap said the forest department is investigating the incident. However, from the condition of the body it appears that the victim might have come very close to the tuskers. He was trampled by one of its legs. Soon after the incident, over 200 villagers gathered at Gerua village and set up a blockade that brought vehicular traffic between Dimna and Patamda to a standstill.
The protestors were demanding adequate compensation to the family members. After an hour-long blockade, the range officer arrived at the spot and announced the compensation package. Kachhap said that the elephants that had crossed over to Bengal have started to return back to Dalma. "As per our observation, a small herd comprising three elephants were returning to Dalma. A strong smell of RsMahua' seeds for preparation of country-made liquor might have attracted the elephants to drift down the Dalma hills," said the range officer. He pointed out that for the manufacture of Mahua liquor, the crushed part of the brewed seed is thrown, which the elephants love to eat.
Kachhap said the forest department paid Rs20,000 to the victim's wife Maheswari Murmu and would pay additional Rs2.3 lakh shortly. Officer-in-charge, Bodam police station, Birendra Toppo said that the police have recovered the body and sent it to the MGM Medical College mortuary for post-mortem.
"As we cannot stop the elephants from migrating from one jungle to another, but can safeguard the villages from the tuskers' attack on the villages, we have set up separate teams for tuskers driving, wherever the chances of the menace is maximum," said another forest official. Meanwhile, people are in a state of fear due to the menace. Sometimes, villagers migrate to safer places for a week or more to avoid the sudden night-time attacks of the wild elephant herds.
"The villagers have been asked to make red chilly cakes so as to ward off the elephants. We are also providing them crackers and burnt mobile so that they can drive away the pachyderms, " he said. Forest officials reveal that the elephants are straying into human habitat from different forest area including Seraikela, Kharsawan, Kuchai and Bagmundi forest in neighbouring Purulia district of Bengal. As many as 40 wild elephants in separate herds are anchored in forest patches close to the human habitats. They emerge from the forest after dusk.