Wild elephant claims a life at Lower Fagu Tea Garden

Mukesh Sharma: One Suman Kunwar, a resident of Lower Fagu Tea Garden under Gorubathan Block, died after being attacked by a wild elephant at around 1 a.m. of July 11, 2012. Deceased Kunwar was taken to the hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to his injuries. Along with the deceased’s house, the wild elephant also destroyed two other houses nearby.The residents of the Tea Garden angry with the incident today blocked the road for hours. The villagers notified that, this is the 8th incident in series during which a villager has lost his life. They complained that due the unavailability of electricity in the village they are unaware of wild animals approaching them. And there are more chances of such mishaps in the future if the shortage of electricity continues, they added.After the blockade by the villagers, the officials of the Forest Department reached the village and distributed an amount of Rs 20,000/- each to the affected households as relief fund. However, the villagers whined that the Government did not provide any aid to the earlier victims of the attack. Further, they are dismayed over the fact that even after many complaints by them regarding the electricity supply, the Government is still staying put in this matter.