Baripada, Aug. 4: A herd of elephants have been giving sleepless nights to villagers at Karanjia in Mayurbhanj district for a month.

The mayhem took a turn for the worse after a 72-year-old man was killed by a tusker on Tuesday.

The deceased, Jagabandhu Mahanta of village Bakartala, suffered severe injuries. He was admitted to the nearby Keonjhar district headquarters hospital on Thursday where he succumbed to his injuries.

Financial assistance of Rs 5,000 from Red Cross Society and Rs 2,000 from Harishchandra Yojana for cremation were given to his family members.

Wildlife officials said compensation of Rs 3 lakh would be given to his family from the department.

The herd of 16 elephants, including eight tuskers and four calves, have damaged at least 25 houses and crops.

The residents alleged that the elephants had been causing a lot of damage to farming fields and houses, besides eating stored grains.

They have also destroyed schools and government establishments.

Fed up with the menace, enraged villagers staged a road blockade twice demanding monetary compensation and relief from the marauding elephants.

Karanjia divisional forest officer Prasanna Kumar Behera said: "Compensation of Rs 10,000 will be given for full damage of house and Rs 2,000 for partial damage."

Another herd of five elephants have entered Mayurbhanj and are causing damage in villages bordering Bengal.

"The herd that entered through the Bengal border has been chased away and their movement is being monitored by our staff members," said Baripada divisional forest officer Sanjay Swain.