MP govt increase ex gratia to Rs 25 lakh

Bhopal : The Madhya Pradesh government has announced to increase the compensation amount for families of those killed in wild animal attacks from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

The state government made this announcement after the death of two people in elephant attacks in two separate incidents in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Umaria district.

The tragic incident occurred days after 10 wild elephants died within the core area of BTR, which prompted the state and Central governments to order inquiry into the matter.

The first attack was reported in Devra village, some 10 kilometres away from BTR, where Ramratan Yadav (50) was crushed to death early on Saturday.

The second incident was reported in Brahe village in the buffer zone of BTR where a 35-year-old Bhairav Kol was killed by elephants. The injured person has been identified as Malu Sahu (32) in Banka village, located just outside the BTR.

Following back-to-back deaths of 10 elephants and then the death of two persons in BTR prompted Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to take stock of the situation.

Yadav chaired a high-level meeting with forest officials and the state wildlife board and issued instructions, besides ordering an independent inquiry into the matter.

During the review meeting, CM Mohan Yadav also ordered for suspension of two senior officials of BTR for lapses after a high-level probe team submitted its reports in connection with the death of 10 elephants.

Besides these, the state government has also decided to form an elephant task force to safely accommodate them. “We will come up with a long-term plan comprising the best practices of other states, including Karnataka, Kerala and Assam that have huge jumbo populations. We are going to send our officers to these states,” CM Yadav said.