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Drunken man challenges elephants’ herd, trampled to death in Jharkhand

Hindustan Times, Ranchi | By, Ranchi
Dec 19, 2018 10:16 AM IST

A herd of 18 elephants entered Pakur from Dumka district’s Shikaripara area. The herd first entered Taldih village on Monday evening. But the people of Taldih drove away the animals by bursting crackers. The herd then moved toward Khaksa village.

A 30-year-old man who reportedly challenged a herd of 18 elephants in a drunken state was trampled to death on Monday night. This led to an agitation by his fellow villagers, who blocked a road for hours, demanding compensation.

The incident took place under Pakuria police station in Pakur district, around 370km northeast of the state capital Ranchi, forest officials said on Tuesday. The man was identified as Julius Hembrom alias Manel Hembrom, resident of Khaksa village. The villagers’ blockade on Tuesday morning was withdrawn only after forest officials handed over 10,000 in cash to the dead man’s wife, Hoponmai Marandi, 22, and assured that 90,000 would be put in her bank account by that afternoon.

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As per the forest department’s rule, a compensation of 4 lakh is given if one dies in a man-elephant conflict. “The rest 3 lakh will be deposited into the account of deceased’s family after initial investigations,” said Pakuria forest ranger Anil Kumar Singh.

Singh said that a herd of 18 elephants entered Pakur from Dumka district’s Shikaripara area. The herd first entered Taldih village on Monday evening. But the people of Taldih drove away the animals by bursting crackers. The herd then moved toward Khaksa village.

“Seeing the approaching herd, Khaksa villagers gathered at a farm field to chase the elephants away. However, they ran away seeing the aggression of the herd. Only Hembrom, who was in an inebriated state, did not flee. As per the villagers, he challenged the elephants’ herd and tried to fight with them, but was killed,” said Singh.

Hembrom is survived by his two children and wife. His wife Hoponmai said, “Hembrom was the lone breadwinner for the family. Now, I don’t know how to feed my two children.” The villagers have demanded a concrete house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMJY) for the Hembrom family, who now live in a mud house.

Singh said that elephants had not been regular visitors to this area earlier. “[But] incidents of elephant entry to the area have increased due to the stiff resistance by the West Bengal administration on elephant movement between states. They didn’t let Jharkhand elephants enter West Bengal. This is why, the elephants are straying from their routes and coming into villages,” said Singh.

An average of 62 people have been killed annually by elephants in Jharkhand in the years since 2009-2010, as per data from the state forest department — the total number of deaths till November this year is 610. Since April this year, 53 people have been killed so far in man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand.

As per the forest department data, there were 77,000 cases of other damage — crops, houses, livestock, and food grain — caused by elephants in the past decade.

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