In another tragic fallout of man-elephant conflict in Assam, a woman was trampled to death by wild a elephant at Labdangiri in Assam’s Baksa district early Monday morning.
The ill-fated victim has been identified as Sukhoda Deka, aged around 75 years.
The elephant was believed to have strayed out of the Manas National Park.
The victim was on a family visit to her son-in-law’s place at Labdingiri.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom has descended in the entire area.
Curious locals have gathered at the victim’s residence.
Herds of elephants have been regularly invading human settlements in search of food, damaging houses and crops in the process. As a result, incidents of man-elephant conflict are steadily on the rise.
There is an estimated population of 500 elephants in Assam, having habitats across all reserved forests. The state has five elephant reserves covering an estimated area of 10,967-sq km.
The increasing depletion of forest cover in the State with human habitation intruding into the territory of the wildlife forcing them to invade human settlements have led to serious fallouts on both sides.
Elephants usually venture into human habitation during this time of the year after the harvest.
A local beer made of rice, which is usually prepared during this season in the rural homes of the State, has a strong aroma and this attracts the elephants to the villages.
Intoxicated the strong aroma of the rice beer, the elephants get excited and create havoc.