Key Points

The victims, identified as 40-year-old Umesh Kaul and 65-year-old Devgania Baiga, were attacked by the rampaging elephants in the dense Godawal Reserve Forest Area.

Speaking to IANS, sub-divisional police officer Ravi Prakash Kol said that the two had ventured into the forest at dawn to collect tendu leaves when the tragedy struck.

Witnesses recall a terrifying scene as the elephants suddenly surrounded Umesh, forcing other tendu leaf collectors to flee for their lives. They immediately alerted forest department officials, but help arrived too late.

Umesh, a resident of Sannausi village, had entered the forest alongside his wife. However, as two wild elephants emerged before them, his wife managed to escape, climbing a tree in sheer desperation while watching helplessly as her husband was trampled to death, the officer said.

Just a kilometre away in Doda forest, another similar incident claimed the life of a woman, Devgania Baiga (65), who was gathering tendu leaves when she was caught off guard by the advancing elephants. Despite her desperate screams for help, she was crushed to death.

When the forest department team arrived, they discovered the lifeless bodies of both victims. "Post-mortem examinations of the bodies are underway," the police officer said.

Reports indicate that these elephants, originating from Bandhavgarh Sanctuary, are moving towards Beohari from Sidhi, raising concerns among villagers. Past instances of crop destruction and damage to homes have instilled deep fear in the local communities, as human-elephant conflicts continue to escalate in the region.

Tendu leaves collecting activity generates additional income for tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. To mitigate recurring conflicts, especially in south-eastern Madhya Pradesh --where elephants frequently traverse a specific forest corridor and raid farmland -- the government approved a Rs 47-crore Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Plan on May 13. As part of the initiative, local farmers and rural communities will be trained in strategies to handle sudden encounters, drive elephants away from farms, and minimise losses related to crops, property, and livelihoods, Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya had said.

Forest officials report that over 150 wild elephants regularly inhabit the Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserves. These elephants often migrate from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and enter human settlements, particularly tribal villages, increasing the risk of confrontations, crop losses, and property damage.

- IANS