A villager was trampled by a herd of elephants on a national highway in Chhattisgarh (Representational)
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 official said on Thursday.
Tilsingh Gond, a resident of Gursian Jhaliyamuda village under Katghora Forest Division, was attacked by tuskers on National Highway 130 late on Wednesday night, the official said.
"Tilsingh Gond was returning home after meeting some relatives in another village, when he encountered a herd of pachyderms crossing the road," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katghora Shama Farooqui said.
The victim and another villager identified as Akbar were pushing the former's two-wheeler, which had run out of petrol, she said, adding that while Akbar managed to escape, Tilsingh Gond was trampled to death.
At least 50 elephants in separate herds are roaming in Etamanagar, Kendai and Pasan forest range of Katghora forest division, and to prevent such attacks, Hathi Mitra Dal and patrolling teams have been monitoring the area, the official said.
Forest officials rushed to the scene and an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 was given to the victim''s family, while remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be disbursed after completion of necessary formalities, she added.
Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the past from the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.
As per the government records, as many as 204 people were killed in elephant attacks and 45 tuskers have died in the state in the last three years.
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