It all began on July 23 afternoon when an elephant herd passed through the agricultural fields of Konhappa village. Following the sighting of the herd, apprehensions ran high amongst the local villagers who feared the large mammals may destroy their houses and the crop fields.
To divert the herd, the rural inhabitants in Karra range of Khunti district in Jharkhand started to pelt stones on the elephants. The tuskers started to move away but one of the elephants, who was at the rear end of the herd, retaliated and in an enraged state charged towards the villagers.
Jasbin Salker Aind, a forest guard, who was present at the location, tried to mediate between the stone pelting villagers and the angry tusker but the 32-year-old got killed in the line of duty.
“Jasbin and four other forest department personnel reached the village upon receiving the input about the herd of elephants passing through the village. They tried to convince the villagers not to throw stones at the animals and provide them a safe passage,” a resident of Konhappa village told Gaon Connection on the condition of anonymity.
Jasbin Salker Aind, the 32-year-old forest guard who lost his life while on duty.
“Soon, one of the elephants got infuriated and charged towards the crowd. Since the forest staff was between the elephant and the villagers, they got chased away by the elephant. Jasbin also ran for cover but he fell on the ground and was picked up by the tusker by its trunk and was thrown away with great force,” the villager added.
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It is learnt that the forest guard was immediately taken to the local health centre following which he was referred to the Ranchi-based Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences where he succumbed to his injuries.
Jasbin Salker Aind is the latest victim of growing human-elephant conflict in the country. Replying to a question on this conflict, Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, told Lok Sabha last week on July 18 that 1,578 people had died of elephant attacks in the country between 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The state-wise data shared by the minister shows that at 322 casualties, Odisha tops the list of deaths by elephant attacks, followed by Jharkhand (291), West Bengal (240), Assam (229), Chhattisgarh (183), Tamil Nadu (132), etc.
“The department has provided financial assistance of Rs 100,000 to Jasbin’s family members as compensation. I will also write to the government for maximum compensation to the victim’s family as the forest guard sacrificed his life while on duty,” Kupdeep Meena, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Khunti, told Gaon Connection.
“Under the due process of compensation, Jasbin’s younger brother will get a job in the department. The department will write to concerned agencies like Wildlife Trust of India and World Wildlife Fund for helping the forest guard’s family as per norms,” the official added.
Understanding elephant behaviour
“Elephants do not harm human beings unless they are being harassed or teased by the latter. They follow a particular path while moving in search of food. For several decades, they have been habitual of following that particular path while moving from one place to another,” Sanjeev Kumar Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forests in Jharkhand, told Gaon Connection.
“Villagers should understand elephants’ behaviour and stop chasing or harassing tuskers when they enter their village,” the official added.
Singh further explained that the elephants damage houses and eat grains or damage crops when these things fall in their path while approaching their destination.
“In such a situation, villagers should give a safe passage to the elephant herd in order to be safe from their attack,” he added.
The state-wise data shared by the minister shows that at 322 casualties, Odisha tops the list of deaths by elephant attacks, followed by Jharkhand (291), West Bengal (240), Assam (229), Chhattisgarh (183), Tamil Nadu (132), etc.
According to the forest official, the department regularly imparts awareness amongst villagers through regular campaigns and people should support the department to enjoy a safe and happy life in the elephant zone.
Mounting losses
Mohammad Imran, a resident of Azadbasti village in Noamundi block of West Singhbhum district (adjoining Khunti district where the forest guard got killed), stated that the agricultural losses due to elephants were increasing every year and the government should not blame the villagers for such incidents.
“Villagers face huge problems during the season as elephants consume their grains, mushrooms, jackfruits and other crops,” Imran complained. “A couple of years back the forest department had formed a Hathi Nirodhak Dasta (elephant prevention group) but it is not active presently. Hence, elephant and human conflict incidents frequently happen in our area,” he added.
“Villagers are victims of elephants’ attack and they should not be blamed for harassing wildlife. Due to ignorance and departmental apathy, victims don’t get due compensation,” the resident of Azadbasti village said.
According to Jharkhand government norms, those injured by elephant attacks are given a compensation of Rs 15,000 to Rs 200,000, while for cases of loss of life, the person’s family gets Rs 400,000.
For crop damage, the compensation is upto Rs 40,000 and for pet animal’s loss it is upto Rs 30,000, for house damage upto Rs 130,000 and for grain loss the compensation is upto Rs 8,000.
Need advanced methods to deal with human-elephant conflict
Sumit Kumar, former forest guard who has served in the Sasangda range in West Singhbhum district (presently forester-in-charge in Chaibasa division) told Gaon Connection that traditional methods of handling elephants need to be reviewed.
“Villagers start stone pelting while forest guards use firecrackers, mashaal (torch) and other traditional methods to drive elephants away from populated areas,” Kumar, who is presently forester-in-charge in Chaibasa division, said. “New methods should be adopted to let villagers as well as forest guards and other personnel of the department work safely. Such methods should be based on wild elephants’ behaviour and their psychology,” he added.
Talking about new methods, the forester said: “A farmer in Kerala had adopted a unique method to save his agricultural plots from elephants by planting cactus plants at the periphery of his crop. Such methods could be adopted at village boundaries to save human life and their belongings from elephant attacks.”
Describing the challenges faced by the forest guard and foresters, Kumar said that a forester is normally in charge of all the forest department affairs within an area spread across 1,000 acres [equivalent to almost 450 football fields].
“There are around 16,020 forest guards in Jharkhand. They normally don’t have any weapons to carry out their duties in the forest. The department provides tranquillisers to its personnel for protection from elephants and other wildlife animals. But at most of the forest divisions, the tranquilliser gun is not available,” he complained.
