At a time when the Northern Frontier Railway (NFR) has won award as well as praises for successfully preventing elephant deaths due to collision with trains, deaths of people in wild jumbos’ attack in human habitats is increasing day by day.
On Monday night, in yet another incident of man-elephant conflict, a lady identified as 52-year-old Kasmen Marak, wife of Lelu Sangma of Kheropara Garopara under Rongjuli range forest of Goalpara district in Lower Assam, lost her life.
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The incident took place on Monday night when Kasmen Marak encountered with a lone jumbo on the street of her village.
When Kasmen was returning from an adult education programme for illiterate persons, suddenly she came across the jumbo which came down from the neighbouring hill in search of food.
The jumbo thrashed Kasmen with its trunk amid her heart-rending cry for help.
However, before anyone could do anything, the pachyderm had taken her life.
Following the incident, a panic situation spread in the village and hundreds of people gathered to recover the body of Kasmen and drive away the elephant.
Amid a chaotic scene, the pachyderm entered into the neighbouring Katholbari village of greater Kheropara and damaged a portion of the residence of one Abul Hussain.
Hours of causing panic, the jumbo finally left the village early in the morning.
But not before devouring the paddy field of Jorifuddin Sk.
The local people have demanded the intervention of the forest department, specially of the Rongjuli range forest under which the villages come.