Bhubaneswar, May 20: Human-elephant conflict in Odisha’s Angul district has intensified further with two more deaths reported within the last 24 hours, triggering panic and anger among local residents.

According to reports, an 80-year-old man identified as Bholeswar Pradhan of Chandanpur village under the Purunagad section of Angul Range was trampled to death by a wild elephant early on Wednesday morning. Pradhan had reportedly gone to collect mangoes near the village when the elephant suddenly attacked him.

After recovering the body, irate villagers staged a road blockade on the Purunagarh-Kartapata road, protesting the increasing elephant menace and alleging inaction by the Forest Department despite repeated incidents in the area.

The latest incident comes just a day after another person was killed in an elephant attack in the Chhendipada area of the district. With the two fresh casualties, the number of deaths caused by elephant attacks in Angul district has risen to six this month alone.

Residents of affected villages have expressed deep concern over the growing human-elephant conflict and demanded immediate preventive measures, including regular elephant tracking and enhanced forest patrols, to avoid further loss of human lives.

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