Korba, Chhattisgarh (India): Delays in lifting government-procured rice from procurement centers in the elephant-affected areas of Korba district have triggered outrage among cooperative society workers after a tragic elephant attack claimed the life of a staff member guarding stored grain.
The incident occurred around 1:34 a.m. at the Kudmura procurement center under the Korkoma cooperative society, where Rajesh Singh, a procurement supervisor responsible for guarding government-purchased rice, was trampled to death by a tusker elephant. According to officials, about 1,100 quintals of rice, worth over ₹2.7 million (about $33,000), had been stored at the center awaiting transportation.
Cooperative society managers say they have been forced to guard millions of rupees worth of rice stocks under dangerous conditions due to delays in transportation arranged by the state procurement agency. Workers claim they are effectively risking their lives every night to protect government grain in areas frequently visited by wild elephants.
The tragedy has sparked widespread concern across the district. Members of the Cooperative Society Employees’ Union expressed grief and provided ₹10,000 in immediate financial assistance to the victim’s family. They have demanded urgent action from authorities, including immediate transportation of stored rice from elephant-affected procurement centers and stronger security arrangements for workers.
The Forest Department has also released ₹25,000 as initial relief from the ₹600,000 government compensation provided for deaths caused by wildlife attacks. The fatal incident was captured on CCTV cameras, raising serious questions about the safety measures in place at procurement centers.
Procurement Delays Raise Serious Concerns
Under standard guidelines, rice purchased from farmers should be transported from procurement centers within 72 hours to a maximum of 10 days. However, officials say the process has been severely delayed this year.
In Korba district alone, 43,681 farmers sold 2.74 million quintals of rice at the government’s minimum support price, worth more than ₹6.5 billion (about $78 million). Despite this, large quantities of rice remain piled up at procurement centers even in the first week of March, an unusual delay that officials say has not occurred in over a decade.
Sources say that after delivery orders were issued for about ten days in late January, the state government temporarily halted transportation, causing massive backlogs across procurement centers.
Workers Demand Immediate Action
Following the recent death, cooperative employees have urged authorities to immediately clear rice stocks from elephant-affected centers such as Lemru, Shyang, Chirra, Barpali, Chachia, and Kudmura, where thousands of quintals of rice remain stored.
According to local estimates, about 28,994 quintals of rice, worth nearly ₹6.87 crore (about $825,000), are still awaiting transportation in these centers alone.
Employees say they are now guarding government grain “with their lives at stake,” as elephants frequently roam these forest-adjacent areas at night. The Kudmura tragedy has left workers frightened, with many demanding urgent intervention before another life is lost.
Local cooperative leaders and officials present at the meeting condemned the incident and held the current system responsible for the dangerous situation, calling for immediate transportation of rice and proper safety arrangements for staff stationed at procurement centers.