TURA, March 31: In yet another case of human-animal conflict from Garo Hills, a woman lost her life after she and another two of her friends were chased by a lone elephant on March 27 morning.
The incident took place near Nabangdagre village under West Garo Hills.
The area in question is part of the famed elephant corridor, which has seen numerous cases of elephants wreaking havoc.
According to the wildlife department sources, Etmila Marak (44), Chetmila Marak (46) and Merita Sangma had gone for jhum cultivation when they were chased by the elephant.
While Merita escaped uninjured by running towards the opposite direction of the elephant, the other two were given chase by the elephant.
Both Etmila and Chetmila received serious injuries before they were able to escape. The duo was immediately rushed to Tura due to the serious nature of the injury.
However, Chetmila succumbed to her injuries en route the hospital.
Etmila, on the other hand, is still undergoing treatment in Tura Civil Hospital.
Upon being informed of the incident, a wildlife team rushed to the village but the elephant had left the place by then.
Interestingly, the site where the incident took place was earlier densely forested but had recently been slashed and burnt for the purpose of jhum cultivation.
Habitat loss of the elephants due to jhuming activities across Garo Hills has led to the animals coming in close proximity to human shelters in search of food.
“As long as their habitat loss continues, elephants will continue coming in search of food in human shelters. Huge tracts of forests are destroyed every year due to jhuming activities and this has led to more frequent encounters with the pachyderms,” said a highly placed wildlife source from Garo Hills.
