Bhubaneswar: More than 1,000 people were killed and several others injured in wild elephant attacks in the past decade in Odisha, stated Forest and Environment Minister Pradip Kumar Amat in the assembly on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the Minister said 1,054 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state from 2014 to January 2024.
The government informed the assembly that Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Angul, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts accounted for a majority of the deaths. With 227 casualties in the last 10 years, Dhenkanal district topped the chart. It was followed by Sundargarh (181), Angul (144) and Mayurbhanj (102).
Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts reported zero human causality due to elephant attacks in the past decade, the Minister said.
The state government has recently increased the ex gratia from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for family members of people killed by wild elephants.
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