Lone tusker strikes labour camp in CG tiger reserve, tramples 2

Raipur: Adding to the disturbing trail of human-animal conflict, a lone tusker stormed a remote PWD construction camp deep inside Chhattisgarh’s Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve on Sunday late night, killing two labourers engaged in “repairing an existing road and building a small bridge over a nullah”. The incident was reported in an area spanning nearly 90km from the district headquarters, facing poor mobile connectivity.The attack took place around 11 pm near Devsil village in Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district, where labourers were engaged in pre-monsoon road repair and nullah construction work. According to forest officials, the workers were resting after dinner when a solitary tusker suddenly emerged from the surrounding forest and charged at them.The 22-year-old Gaurav, a worker at the site, died on the spot. Another labourer, Amar Singh (35), suffered severe injuries before he was rescued by a forest patrolling team that had already been in the midst after receiving information about elephant movement, deputy director of the tiger reserve, Saurabh Singh, told TOI.“A lone tusker was behind the attack. Our staff had received inputs about its movement and a team was on its way to alert workers and villagers in the area when the attack occurred,” Singh added.Forest personnel rushed the injured worker towards Sonhat hospital, about 45 km away. However, Amar Singh succumbed to his injuries en route and was declared dead by doctors on arrival at the hospital.Officials said the remoteness of the area and poor mobile connectivity hampered communication efforts. “It is a no-network zone across several stretches. Our teams are continuously patrolling and alerting people about elephant presence,” Singh said.The road where the labourers were working had received the required permissions for repair work and construction of drainage structures ahead of the monsoon, the official said.Post-mortem of the victims and the initial process to award compensation to their kin were carried out on Monday. As per state norms, immediate relief of Rs 25,000 each is provided to the bereaved families, while the remaining compensation amount of Rs 5.75 lakh will be released after completion of formalities.The incident has yet again put the spotlight on the persistent challenge posed by rising incidents of human-elephant conflict in northern and remote locations of Chhattisgarh, where elephants frequently stray into villages and farms while also disrupting infrastructure work.According to forest department data, more than 325 people have lost their lives in elephant attacks across the state over the last five years.