Locals confront forest officers at the site of fatal attack. Uday Sawant
AS IT HAPPENED
* Narrating the sequence of events, a distraught Gomati Gawade said she and Jayanti Anant Gaonkar (44) were proceeding to a cashew plantation near their locality
* While they were on the way, a bison suddenly came charging towards them. Jayanti later succumbed to the serious injuries sustained on her abdomen
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DOUBLE BLOW
FOR FAMILY
* Jayanti's husband had died four years ago and she was the only bread winner in the family
* One son is in college, while the other son is pursuing ITI and the third son is in school
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VALPOI: Tension prevailed at Kankire-Guleli in Sattari taluka after a bison gored a 44-year-old woman to death, while another woman narrowly escaped the attack on Wednesday morning.
The irate locals later confronted forest officials and accused them of failing to take steps to trap the bison which had repeatedly caused nuisance in the Kankire and surrounding areas.
Narrating the sequence of events leading to the tragedy, a distraught Gomati Gawade said she and Jayanti Anant Gaonkar (44) were proceeding to a cashew plantation near their locality.
“While we were on the way, a bison suddenly came charging towards us. I managed to escape in the nick of time, but unfortunately, the bison gored Jayanti and she sustained serious injuries on her abdomen.”
“We managed to bring her home and summoned a 108 ambulance, but the ambulance paramedics declared her dead,” said Gawade.
It was a double blow for the Gaonkar family, as Jayanti's husband had died four years ago and she was the only bread winner in the family. One son, Gopal, is in college, while the other son, Akshay, is pursuing ITI and the third son, Ajay, is in school. They live with their paternal grandmother.
The death of Gaonkar following an attack by a bison shocked the village and angry locals bitterly criticised forest officials for failing to pay heed to their concerns regarding the bison which had been causing nuisance in the area for almost a year.
“Locals had repeatedly requested forest officials to trap the bison as it was frequently entering the village and causing havoc. They had even forced to take law into their hands if no steps were taken by forest officials,” said a local.
When contacted, local panch member Nitesh Gawade said they have demanded immediate action to trap the bison.
On hearing the news, a forest team led by Range Forest Officer (RFO) Deepak Betkekar went to the site of the attack, where they were confronted by angry locals for failing to take steps to trap and bison and safeguard the village.
Betkekar along with his other forest staff conducted the panchanama, while the Valpoi police also conducted investigations at the site.
Later speaking to reports, Betkekar expressed grief over the tragic incident and appealed to people in the vicinity to take care while moving in the area.
Responding to demands from locals to trap the bison and shift it elsewhere, Betkekar said the demand would be forwarded to higher authorities.
“If permission is granted, steps will be taken to rehabilitate this bison to some other place,” the RFO said.
Regarding another demand for compensation to the bereaved family, Betkekar said there is a provision under the Wildlife Protection Act to provide compensation of up to Rs 1.5 lakh to the bereaved family.
“Efforts would be made to provide them this compensation,” Betkekar said.
