RAIPUR: At least eight tendu leaf collectors, including women, were injured — some critically — after a herd of wild boars attacked them in a forested patch of Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Tuesday morning, triggering panic among workers during the peak collection season. The workers were caught off guard when a group of wild boars charged at them, leaving several with serious injuries before they could react.Eyewitnesses said chaos broke out as laborers tried to flee the sudden attack. Women were among those seriously injured. The incident took place around 7am in the Kohla Kasa forest, where over a dozen villagers from nearby villages had entered the jungle to pluck tendu leaves. The injured have been identified as Phoolbai, Madhuri, Anjanibai, Urmila Joshi and Kheduram, among others.Five of the injured were admitted to the Rajnandgaon medical college hospital, while others were shifted to Pathri and Chhuria health centres. Hospital sources said at least one woman remains critical with deep injuries to the chest and arms, while the condition of others is stable.The photos of the injured people were gory enough to imagine the seriousness of the attack.Divisional forest officer (DFO) Ayush Jain inspected the spot and later visited the hospital to take stock of the situation. “The incident is being investigated. Immediate medical assistance has been provided and the department will bear the treatment expenses,” he said, adding that an interim relief will be given to the injured.Forest officials said a herd of wild boars is still present in the area and teams have been deployed to monitor their movement as they appear to be too aggressive to handle. The attack has sparked fear in Kohlakasa and nearby villages, especially as large numbers of villagers enter forests during the tendu leaf season. Residents have demanded increased patrolling and better safety measures, saying rising wildlife movement is putting lives at risk. Continuous incidents of human-animal conflict are being reported from different parts of the state during the mahua and tendu leaf collection season and it’s considered that the wild animals feel insecure that their food was being taken away by the humans, which triggers aggression and they attack. In a separate incident reported from Halekosa village in Chhuria region, another wild boar attack on tendu leaf collectors left several injured, further intensifying concerns over safety in forest areas.
