Kerala has witnessed a series of human deaths due to the attack of wild elephants. (Representative)
Pathanamthitta:
A 53-year-old man was attacked and killed by a wild elephant on Monday when he tried to chase it away after it strayed into the vicinity of his house near the forest in Thulappally, police said.
This is the fifth death reported in the conflict between humans and wild elephants in Kerala in the last three months.
Biju, a local motorist, came out of his house with his wife Daisy after hearing the trumpet of an elephant outside. The animal grabbed him with its trunk and threw him to the ground twice, said Daisy, an eyewitness.
The same elephant had recently invaded the area and caused trouble, she claimed.
Narrating the incident, Daisy said the animal was seen trying to uproot a coconut tree in the area and quickly moved towards it after sounding its trumpet several times. She added that she stepped back and entered her house.
“We went out together and early in the morning we heard the sounds of the elephant near our house. The first time we came back home together. But he went back to the road near the house while the elephant was trumpeting,” Daisy told reporters. here.
The teary-eyed woman said the animal suddenly rushed at Biju, grabbed him by the trunk and threw him to the ground twice.
It later ran off into the woods, she said.
“As there was no response, I went to the spot and saw him lying motionless on the ground,” Daisy added. A police team rushed to the spot and shifted Biju’s body to Kottayam Medical College.
Later in the day, Health Minister Veena George visited Biju’s house and consoled his family members. She assured them that the government would provide the family with adequate compensation as soon as possible.
Local residents staged an intense protest in the area demanding compensation for the victim’s family and a job for a relative as a permanent solution to the loss they suffered due to the wild elephant attack.
In a discussion between people’s representatives and district and forest officials, it was decided that a compensation of Rs 10 lakh would be handed over to the murdered man’s family today.
Lok Sabha MP Anto Antony, who participated in the meeting, later told reporters that as per the decision taken at the meeting, the District Collector would recommend the government to award Rs 50 lakh to the family as compensation.
“One of Biju’s relatives will immediately get a temporary job at the forest office here. The recommendation for permanent employment will be submitted to the government,” he said.
It was also decided to install fencing and ditches in the fringe areas adjoining the forest and a decision would be implemented at the earliest in this regard, the MP added.
Kerala has witnessed a series of human deaths due to the attack of wild elephants in recent months.
A tribal woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant deep in a forest area bordering Wayanad and Malappuram districts on March 28.
A forest ranger, 50-year-old Paul, was trampled to death by a wild elephant while on his way to work in Kuruva in Wayanad district on February 16.
A week earlier, another Wayanad resident, Aji (42), was trampled to death by a radio-collared elephant at Mananthavady in the district, triggering massive protests.
In January, an estate guard, Lakshmanan (65), was killed by a wild tusker in Tholpetty, also in the same district.
In central Kerala’s Idukki district, which is also heavily forested and mountainous, a woman, identified as Indira Ramakrishnan, was killed in an elephant attack in the first week of March.
Prajeesh (36) was mauled by a tiger near a forest area in Vakeri in Wayanad in December last year.
The Kerala government has sought to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, citing the challenges the state faces in dealing with cases of wild animals encroaching on human settlements.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)