Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 17: One person was killed and the other severely injured by a wild elephant on Nov. 16 at around 9:20 pm, at Mekokla village in Wokha district, while they were sleeping inside a farmhouse in terraced paddy field, some 6 kilometres away from the village.
Crops, plantation, and farmhouses were also damaged reportedly. The deceased person was identified as Nchemo Kikon, 58 years old, while the injured person was identified as Indra Bahadur, aged 59, who narrowly escaped with injuries.
The village council chairman of Mekokla, Nyamo Z Yanthan told Eastern Mirror that a herd of wild elephants numbering around 20-30 had been grazing in the vicinity of paddy field and a rubber plantation area in Mekokla village since last month. Consequently, the matter was reported to the deputy commissioner of Wokha, but Yanthan said that the authority concerned initiated no action.
The chairman also recalled that a similar incident happened in 2016, during which one farmer was killed. He said that it has become a usual conflict between the villagers and the elephants, resulting in spread of fear among the villagers.
Yanthan said he had reported the incident to the deputy commissioner of Wokha. He added that, since the deceased was the only bread earner in the family, he had requested the DC to pay an ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased.
It was also learned that the department of Forest had given an ex-gratia of INR one lakh to the next of kin. Also, the Wokha District Disaster Management Authority (WDDMA) has announced an ex-gratia of INR four lakh to the next of kin, while INR 10 thousand was handed to the injured by the sub-divisional officer.
A DIPR report from Wokha also informed that the district administration led by the SDO of Sanis, including police personnel from Sanis police station paid a visit to the field and inspected the spot this morning to assess the damage caused. Staff from Forest department led by the wild life warden also visited the spot, it reported.
