Elephant dies of electrocution in Chhattisgarh

Jashpur, August 10

An elephant died of electrocution after it came in contact with a live wire in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district on Tuesday, a forest official said.

The jumbo was found dead in Amdiha village under Tapkara forest range, Divisional Forest Officer Srikrishna Jadhav said.

Preliminary investigation revealed the elephant had strayed into the village and ransacked a godown where a stock of rice distributed under the Public Distribution Scheme was kept.

Later, the elephant came in contact with a wire laid to supply electricity to a sub-health centre there and got electrocuted, the official said.

After being alerted by locals, forest personnel rushed to the spot and started the process of autopsy, he said.

According to forest officials, the elephant might have entered the village in search of food.

Over 50 elephants in separate herds have been roaming in the forests of Pathalgaon, Tapkara and Kunkuri areas of Jashpur since the last couple of days, they said.

As per government records, 204 people were killed in elephant attacks while 45 jumbos died due to various reasons, including electrocution, in the state in the last three years (2018, 2019 and 2020).

Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the past from the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, consisting of Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.

The region has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants.

Sometimes, locals illegally lay the electric wires around their farms to prevent wild elephants from destroying their crops. — PTI