Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren on Saturday raised concerns over rising casualties from man-elephant conflict and directed officials to develop a mechanism to ensure no human deaths occur in such attacks.
Around 27 people have died due to elephant attacks in districts including Ramgarh, Bokaro, Hazaribag, Chaibasa, Jamshedpur, Lohardaga, Gumla and Dumka over the past few months, which he described as a "matter of serious concern".
Soren held a high-level meeting with top forest officials a day after seven people, including four members of a family, were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in a village in Hazaribag district.
The chief minister directed officials to map all elephant corridors in the state and provide specialised technical training to villagers in affected areas where tuskers are causing damage to property and loss of life.
He said trained villagers could also be included in elephant rescue teams.
“Comprehensive steps must also be initiated to stop elephants from entering or straying into rural areas,” Soren told officials.
The CM also said that if any person dies in an animal attack, the victim’s family should receive the full compensation amount within 12 days of the incident.
Soren instructed officers to furnish complete data to the state government on the number of human casualties and the corresponding compensation disbursed in man-elephant conflict cases over the past five years.
“Our government is very sensitive towards incidents of man-elephant conflicts,” he said.
The forest officials informed the chief minister that they were working on a quick and responsible mechanism for elephant rescue.
They said that six 'Kumki' elephants, trained jumbos, are being brought to Jharkhand to drive away, capture or rescue wild tuskers.
Informing the CM about the Hazaribag incident, the officials said the herd of five elephants is very aggressive.
“As many as 70 teams have been deployed to manage the situation,” one of the officials said.
The man-elephant conflicts increased in Jharkhand over the past two months. A single rogue tusker claimed the lives of 20 people in West Singhbhum district in January, while a female jumbo killed five persons in Bokaro district this month.
Man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand have left as many as 474 people dead since the 2019-20 fiscal, according to a government report.