In the wake of massive protests over the killing of a woman by a wild elephant on Monday, a meeting of top officials including Idukki District Collector Sheeba George, High-range Circle Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Arun R.S. and representatives of tea plantations in Munnar will be held on March 6 (Wednesday) to discuss effective measures to curb rising instances of human-animal conflicts.
Ms. George has also called an all-party meeting at the district collectorate on March 12 to discuss the issue. Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran and Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine are slated to attend the meeting.
The body of Indira Ramakrishnan, 70, who was killed by a wild tusker at Kanjiraveli near Adimali the other day, was cremated in her house compound on Tuesday.
The massive protests that rocked Kothamangalam town over her death died down and the funeral was conducted in a peaceful environment. Among the attendees were A. Raja, Devikulam MLA, and K.K. Sivaraman, convenor of the Left Democratic Front in Idukki. Representatives of the Revenue and Forest departments, who were in the eye of a storm due to increasing human-animal conflicts, stayed away.
Indira, trampled to death by a wild elephant within the Neriamangalam forest range under the Munnar division, was the fifth victim of elephant attacks in the last two months in Munnar division alone.
Mr. Saseendran said in a statement that the department had already strengthened its activities to mitigate wild elephant attacks in Munnar division. Three Rapid Response Teams (RRT) were working in the Munnar and Adimali areas. Drone camera monitoring was introduced. Steps were taken to set up artificial intelligence (AI) cameras along forest fringes, he said.
Meanwhile, word went around around Munnar that massive protests were required to ensure speedy compensation to the victims of wild animal attacks. In a report prepared by the State special branch, it was pointed out that among the five deaths due to wild animal attacks in Idukki in the last two months, immediate compensation was paid to the kin of just two as these deaths triggered massive public protests. The report said drying of grass, the absence of sources of water and controlled burning of grass along forest fringes as a fire prevention mechanism forced wild elephants to venture into human habitations in search of food.
