Elephants trample woman to death in M’laya

IANS SHILLONG, NOVEMBER 12 A Garo tribal woman was trampled to death by wild elephants in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, an official said on Thursday. Walji M. Sangma was killed on Wednesday in the forest area in Selbalgre village in the outskirts of Tura while she was collecting firewood, District Magistrate Pravin Bakshi told IANS. Tura is the district headquarters of West Garo Hills. The woman was caught in the middle as the herd of elephants were fleeing and she was trampled to death, Bakshi said. Experts said wild elephants are moving out of the jungles as people encroach upon animal corridors, leading to an increasing number of elephant attacks on villages. The total population of Asiatic elephants in Meghalaya is estimated at 1,811, according to a wildlife census in 2011.