Crocodile claims another life in Bhitarkanika, five deaths in four months
Crocodile claims another life in Bhitarkanika, five deaths in four months
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Kendrapada: According to reports, a 17-year-old woman was killed at a riverfront village in the Kendrapada district of Odisha after being attacked by a saltwater crocodile.
Sheela Dalei of the village of Rangani, which is close to Bhitarkanika National Park, has been named as the deceased.
The incident occurred two days ago while Sheela and her older sister Sumitra Dalei were grazing their goats next to a brook in Rangani hamlet. According to Sumitra, as they were grazing the goats, one of the flocks crossed into the creek, and as Sheela hurried to retrieve the goat, a crocodile sprang into action and attacked her. The media said that the reptile then pulled Sheela into the water.
Sources claim that on Sunday, after Sheela's dismembered body was fished out by fire department officials, the girl's death was officially confirmed.
There are around 1,784 crocodiles in Bhitarkanika. The human-crocodile conflict has been worsening in and around the settlements along the Bhitarkanika, which has been a problem to the relevant forest department.
According to official sources, this was the seventh human fatality brought on by crocodile attacks in riverbank communities outside of Bhitarkanika National Park in the previous four months, while at least seven other people were hurt.
Range officer of the national park Manas Dash was cited in the media as saying that the deceased girl's family will receive Rs 4 lakh as part of the government's programme to make up for the death caused by protected wild animals.
