Tusker crushes woman to death in Balrampur

Raipur: A 58-year-old village woman was crushed to death by an elephant in Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. The woman had gone to forest to collect mahua fruits when an elephant charged upon her.

The terror of wild elephants continues to haunt the forested areas of Balrampur district, with yet another fatal incident reported from Wadrafnagar forest range.

The deceased was identified as Yashoda Das, a resident of Syahi village, had ventured nearly 7 km into the dense Pokli Mahua forest early Wednesday morning with a group of other women. As per eyewitnesses, a lone tusker, believed to have entered the region from neighbouring Jharkhand, suddenly charged at the group.

While the others managed to flee, Yashoda could not escape. The elephant grabbed her with its trunk, slammed her repeatedly, and crushed her to death on the spot.

This marks the seventh death in just 17 days caused by elephant attacks in the Surguja division— a grim statistic that highlights the growing human-wildlife conflict in the region, particularly during the mahua and tendu leaf collection season.

Forest officials rushed to the scene and sent the body for post mortem. "The elephant has entered from Jharkhand and is currently roaming between the Ramanujganj and Wadrafnagar ranges," said officials.

Authorities have made public announcements just a day earlier in several villages — including Syahi, Rajkheta, Wadrafnagar, Kotrahi, and Karamdiha — warning locals of the elephant's presence.

This latest tragedy is part of a disturbing pattern in the Sarguja division, where fatal elephant encounters rise during mahua and tendu collection periods.

Amid fear, locals have been demanding stronger preventive measures and immediate relief.

The forest department is planning to deploy tracking teams and exploring early-warning systems to prevent further loss of life. However, the seasonal dependence of rural communities on forest produce continues to put them in harm's way.

The northern district forests of Chhattisgarh have been facing human-elephant conflict for past decades as they are located on the neighbouring states on the borders.