A pregnant woman and her 4-year-old daughter were trampled to death on Saturday by a herd of wild elephant in the Sunday bazaar area adjacent to Assam-Nagaland border in East Karbi Anglong district.
The herd which was on a rampage destroyed a dozen houses, croplands besides killing Puja Kumari and her nine month pregnant mother Minni Devi on spot. KAAC EM Madhujya Dhekial Phukan visited the affected family and assured of all possible help and early disbursement of government compensations to next kin of the victim.
The tea-estates in the Lahorijan area alongside NH 39 are considered an elephant habitat as a herd of 10-15 elephants including infants are a common sight in the region.
However, rampant destruction of forest cover and expansion of human settlement have compelled the wild elephants to charge human settlement in search of food.
The Man-elephant conflict has assumed an alarming proportion in the hill district of Karbi Anglong. A small school going girl was trampled to death in board daylight at Longkathar village under Khatkhati police station on January 4, 2017.
Chandan Paik, 30, a resident of Louis Tirki village under Silonijan Range was killed in an elephant attack on February 3, 2017. Elephant deaths due to unnatural causes have also seen a significant rise in the past couple of years.
Hundreds of elephants are killed each year with the primary reason being either mowing down by moving train, electrocutions, poisoning or due to gunshot.
A bullet ridden carcass of a wild elephant stuck in a wetland was recovered from the Lahorijan tea-estate area back in 2014. Forest officials assumed that the elephant have been a victim of conflict with human and was probably shot in retaliation.
Earlier on February 26, two wild elephants which came in contact with dangling wires were electrocuted to death in Dhansiri Tea-Estate under Silonijan forest range of the district.