A 10-kilometer stretch of road in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district has been temporarily closed by the forest department following a wild elephant herd’s presence. The closure, affecting the route from Pategbahal to Jamtoli Chowk in the Satpuria forest area, follows a terrifying incident where two local men, Bablu Nagvanshi and Rajkumar Nagvanshi, were forced to abandon their motorcycle and flee after being confronted by the herd. One individual escaped by climbing a tree and was later rescued by a forest team led by Nandkumar Yadav. Officials noted that a herd of 37 elephants has been active in the region for twenty days, prompting a four-point management strategy. This temporary closure, part of the strategy, has contributed to a record low in human-elephant conflicts in 2025.
