Raipur, Feb 25 (IANS) At least seven elephants were killed in Chhattisgarh during the past six months, mostly due to electrocution, the state assembly was informed Thursday.

Seven elephants were killed in the state between August 2009-January 2010, with four of them getting electrocuted in the forested villages hit by man-elephant conflict, Forest Minister Vikram Usendi told the assembly in a written reply to a question by Congress member Nandkumar Patel.

Senior forest officials here say that the Chhattisgarh government is desperate to find a permanent solution to the decades-old man-elephant conflict and is willing to work on a proposal by Earth Matters Foundation (an NGO), which has suggested the setting up of Elephant Villages to help keep the wild jumbos from civilian forested areas.