Tragic Human-Elephant Encounter Claims Life in G Udayagiri: Villagers Demand Action

A Fatal Encounter with Wildlife

In a tragic incident highlighting the ongoing human-animal conflict, a wild elephant killed a 55-year-old laborer on the outskirts of G Udayagiri in Kandhamal on Saturday evening, according to local authorities. This shocking event has ignited outrage among residents who feel their warnings about the aggressive elephant herd have been disregarded.

Samanta Digal, a resident of Malansuga village, was returning home from work with two friends when the elephant attacked them near Pajimaha, approximately 2 kilometers from G Udayagiri. Eyewitness Sanjeeb Pradhan reported that Digal was seized by the elephant's trunk, trampled, and dismembered, while his companions narrowly escaped.

Forest officials, including Prashanta Sahu and Rasmita Buxi, arrived at the scene with senior police personnel the following morning, 18 hours post-incident. They assured the victim's family of compensation and mentioned that they had informed the divisional forest officer, who had yet to arrive, further aggravating the villagers' frustration. Locals expressed that elephant invasions have been wreaking havoc on crops and claiming lives for months, yet no effective measures have been taken to drive the elephants back into their natural habitat. Some villagers even threatened to take matters into their own hands if swift action was not taken.

Authorities have since recovered Digal's remains for a post-mortem examination. This incident marks the first case in the region where a victim has been mutilated, amplifying criticism of what residents describe as a slow and insufficient response to the rising human-elephant conflicts.