Elephant Terror Continues to Haunt Seraikela, 171 lives lost in 25 years

Seraikela: The shadow of fear cast by wild elephants continues to loom large over the Seraikela Forest Division, where human-animal conflict has claimed 171 lives over the past 25 years and left more than 240 people injured. Despite the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state, the crisis remains unresolved, with villagers in the Chandil forest belt living under constant threat.

The Chandil forest area has emerged as the epicentre of elephant disturbances over the past decade. Recent incidents underline the gravity of the situation. In 2025, Kunthi Devi of Anda village in Nimdih and Gourang Mahato of Letemda village in Kukru lost their lives in separate elephant attacks. The trend has continued into 2026, with Radha Tantubai of Saparum village in Kukru being trampled to death, triggering widespread panic across the region.

Ground reports reveal an alarming situation in villages falling under Chandil subdivision. Herds of wild elephants have virtually laid siege to human settlements. At present, six elephants are stationed in Saparum village under Kukru block, while a massive herd of 16 elephants has encamped in Anda village of Nimdih block. As dusk falls, the sound of elephant trumpeting echoes across villages, signalling yet another night of fear for residents.

Villagers allege that elephants frequently venture into agricultural fields, destroying crops and livelihoods. In areas bordering West Bengal, such as Saparum, locals are often forced to spend sleepless nights, chasing elephants with torches to protect their fields. During the day, elephants from the Anda region are seen entering the waters of the Chandil Dam, highlighting the increasing overlap between human and elephant habitats.

Despite the escalating crisis, the Forest Department’s response has come under sharp criticism. Currently, only one “Elephant-Chasing Squad” is deployed across the vast stretches of Chandil, Nimdih, Kukru, and Ichagarh blocks. Led by Gayaram Mahto, the team has been attempting to drive the elephants back into the forests, but with limited manpower and resources, their efforts have yielded little success.

The worst-affected villages include Rasaniya and Hathinada in Chandil block; Bana, Jamdih, Gunda, Ditand, Banghar, Lava, Anda, and Sirum in Nimdih block; and Kukru, Rupru, Bandabir, Saparum, and Kendanda in Kukru block. Residents of these areas say they have been left to fend for themselves in the absence of effective intervention.

Forest officials, however, maintain that the situation is complex. According to Mukesh Kumar Mahto, Forester-in-Charge of Chandil, elephants are currently scattered across multiple zones including Anda, Kalyanpur, and Ichagarh, making coordinated action difficult. He added that monitoring elephant movement along the Bengal border remains a major challenge. Authorities have urged villagers to remain cautious, especially during morning and evening hours when elephants tend to be more aggressive, and to avoid provoking them.

Experts attribute the increasing aggression among elephants to multiple factors, including shrinking forest resources, human interference, and disruptions in traditional elephant corridors. In the Seraikela Forest Division, the elephant sex ratio is estimated at 1:8, which experts believe can also influence behavioural patterns.

Significantly, long-pending plans to develop and secure elephant corridors from Chandil to the Odisha border have failed to move beyond paperwork. Environmentalists warn that unless these corridors are restored, human-elephant conflict will only intensify in the coming years.

Although measures such as check dams and water sources have been created under the Government of India’s Project Elephant, these efforts have not been sufficient to contain the growing crisis.

Data from the past two decades paints a grim picture. The year 2004–05 recorded the highest fatalities, with 28 people killed by elephants. More recently, 11 deaths each were reported in 2012–13 and 2020–21, underscoring the persistent nature of the threat.

Here is a clear year-wise list of deaths due to wild elephant attacks in the Seraikela Forest Division:

Year-wise fatalities:

• 2004–05: 28 deaths
• 2005–06: 10 deaths
• 2006–07: 6 deaths
• 2007–08: 4 deaths
• 2008–09: 4 deaths
• 2009–10: 4 deaths
• 2010–11: 3 deaths
• 2011–12: 12 deaths
• 2012–13: 11 deaths
• 2013–14: 5 deaths
• 2014–15: 7 deaths
• 2015–16: 4 deaths
• 2016–17: 5 deaths
• 2017–18: 3 deaths
• 2018–19: 6 deaths
• 2019–20: 3 deaths
• 2020–21: 11 deaths
• 2021–22: 6 deaths
• 2022–23: 7 deaths
• 2023–24: 6 deaths
• 2024–25: 1 death
• 2025–26: 2 deaths
• 2026–27: 1 death

Total deaths over the period: 171