Elephant attack : 2 out of 3 injured women succumb
| Date :29-Apr-2024 |
Staff Reporter
A wild male elephant that came from Telangana to Gadchiroli district a few days ago, wreaked havoc in Bhamragad taluka as it killed three persons in last four days. On Thursday, the tusker attacked three women from Hidur village of Bhamragad taluka and injured them seriously. Out of three women, two victims succumbed to their injuries on Sunday. One day before this incident, the same elephant killed a farmer named Gonglu Rama Telami (46) of Kiyar village of Bhamragad when he was working in his farm which is situated near the forest. Whereas, the very next day, the three women named Mahari Devu Wadde (50), Raje Kopa Alami (50) and Vanje Juru Pungati from Hidur village faced the elephant attack during the ‘Mata Puja’ programme which was underway in the village at around 7.30 pm. The elephant attacked the crowd seriously injuring the three women. Out of these three women, Wadde and Alami were critical and on Sunday, they succumbed to their injuries in General Hospital at Chandrapur.
“Both women died due to serious injuries on legs and stomach. After their death, we are waiting for the post-mortem report and after autopsy, the bodies were handed over to their families,” S Rameshkumar, Conservator of Forest (Territorial), Gadchiroli told ‘The Hitavada’. The tusker was first seen in Kosfundi village of Bhamragad taluka on early Thursday morning. It then went to Karampalli-Tekla forest. Then same day in the evening, it attacked the farmer. Then it moved to Hidur village same day and attacked on these three women. According to the officer, before entering in Gadchiroli district, this elephant also killed two persons in Telangana and damaged crop and houses there. “This elephant came from Chhattisgarh. First it entered Telangana, creating panic among villagers in that state and now it entered Bhamragad taluka of Gadchiroli,” said Rameshkumar. “We are monitoring the movement of the elephant with the help of our Hulla team and forest men in adjoining areas of the taluka. We are also using drone to monitor the movement of the elephant,” said the senior officer.
Along with this, the Forest Department is sensitising villagers about the elephant and are advising them to bot panic. “We urged the villagers to be safe and don’t panic and told them to inform the Forest Department if they witness the elephant venturing around their villages,” he added. In the recent time, Gadchiroli district is witnessing human-elephant conflict frequently as a herd of around 14 wild animals came from Chhattisgarh and killed villagers including one Forest Department driver last year and damaged crops in and around Gadchiroli district. Now, this male elephant, who also came from Chhattisgarh, is creating panic among villagers in the district. Despite many attacks by elephants on human, the Forest Department is working hard to handle this kind of man-animal conflict incidents which are new in the State as Maharashtra had no elephant herds so far.