Berhampur: A 40-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a wild tusker at Petamaha village under G Udayagiri forest range in Kandhamal district early on Wednesday. The deceased, Pradeep Pradhan was from the same village, said forest officials. A preliminary inquiry has revealed Pradhan was in his hut, located in the agriculture land, when an elephant came close to it. To save himself, he ran towards the road but came face-to-face with the tusker. The elephant trampled him to death near his hut. No other person was in the hut when the incident took place, forest officials said.The villagers protested demanding adequate compensation to Pradhan’s family and that the elephant herds be driven away from the area. The situation returned to normal when the forest officials assured them that they would provide compensation to his family members as per provisions. The villagers alleged that the locals were panicked after the incident as the tusker has been roaming in the area for several months. On March 14, the tusker killed three persons in two separate incidents in Raikia forest in G Udayagiri forest range.DFO Pratap Kottapalli said there were three elephants, including a lone tusker which killed Pradhan, divided into two herds, which were roaming in the area for the last four months and were suspected to have come from Ghumusar North division in Ganjam district. He said as per provisions, they have provided Rs 1 lakh compensation to Pradhan’s family, while the rest Rs 9 lakh would be provided after getting all relevant reports.Five squads were engaged to track the tusker and to drive the animal away from the area. The favourable temperature and availability of water and food in the area were some of the reasons for the elephants not leaving the area after they migrated from Ghumusar North division last March, said the DFO.
