Ranchi, February 14 Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed concerns over the increasing number of casualties due to human-elephant conflicts in the state on Saturday and directed officials to develop a mechanism to ensure that no human death occurs due to attacks by the animals.
Around 27 people have died due to elephant attacks in several districts, including Ramgarh, Bokaro, Hazaribag, Chaibasa, Jamshedpur, Lohardaga, Gumla, and Dumka, in the past few months, which is a "serious matter of concern," he said.
Soren held a high-level meeting with top forest officials, a day after seven people, including four members of a family, were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in a village in the Hazaribag district.
The chief minister directed the officials to map all elephant corridors in the state and asked them to provide specialized technical training to villagers in the affected areas, where elephants are causing damage to property and killing people.
He also said that trained personnel can be included in the elephant rescue teams.
"Comprehensive steps must also be taken to prevent elephants from entering or straying into rural areas," Soren told the officials.
The CM also said that if any person dies in an animal attack, the victim's family should receive the full compensation amount within 12 days of the incident.
Soren instructed officers to provide complete data to the state government on the number of human casualties and the corresponding compensation disbursed in man-elephant conflict cases over the past five years.
"Our government is very sensitive towards incidents of man-elephant conflicts," he said.
The forest officials informed the chief minister that they were working on a quick and responsible mechanism for elephant rescue.
They said that six 'Kumki' elephants, trained jumbos, are being brought to Jharkhand to drive away, capture, or rescue wild elephants.
Informing the CM about the Hazaribag incident, the officials said that the herd of five elephants is very aggressive.
"As many as 70 teams have been deployed to manage the situation," one of the officials said.
Human-elephant conflicts have increased in Jharkhand over the past two months. A single rogue elephant claimed the lives of 20 people in West Singhbhum district in January, while a female elephant killed five people in Bokaro district this month.
Human-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand have left as many as 474 people dead since the 2019-20 fiscal, according to a government report.