A 70-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Kanjiraveli, near Adimaly, under the Neriamangalam forest range on Monday morning.
The deceased was identified as Kanjiraveli resident Indira Ramakrishnan. According to officials, the incident occurred around 9.30 a.m. on Monday. The wild elephant attacked the woman while she was taking tea to her husband at their plantation. The elephant also charged at Kanisseri Shaji, a resident in the area, while he was tapping rubber. He however escaped. Local residents rushed her to the hospital. But she died en route to the Kothamangalam taluk hospital.
After a post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the relatives. Indira is survived by her husband Ramakrishnan and children Shibu, Sindu, and Sheeja.
A senior Forest department official said that on Monday morning, a herd of wild elephants entered the Neendapara area under the Neriamangalam forest range. “The forest officials and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) members chased the animals to the Nagarampara range around 7 a.m. But one elephant crossed the Periyar and moved to Kanjiraveli, bordering the river. The woman was on the farm and came under attack,” said the official.
Five deaths in 2 months
Within two months, five people lost their lives in wild elephant attacks in the Munnar Division. On January 8, a woman plantation worker, Parimalam, 48, was killed in a wild elephant attack at Panniyar, near Santhanpara, and on January 22, K. Palraj, 79, of Coimbatore was attacked by a wild elephant near a wedding reception venue at Thenmala, near Gundumala, in Munnar. On January 26, BL Ram resident Soundrajan, who was attacked by a wild elephant named Chakkakompan, at Chinnakkanal, died while under treatment; on February 26, Kannimala Top division native and autorickshaw driver Suresh Kumar was killed by a wild elephant near Kannimala Top under Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) around 9.30 p.m.
The Idukki diocese under the Syro Malabar Church has demanded immediate solution to address the man-animal conflict issues in Kerala. Idukki diocese media commission director Fr. Jins Karakkatt said that the government should take initiatives to contain wild animals inside the forest. “The actual reasons for wild elephants venturing into human habitation should be found out scientifically, and steps should be taken to address them. Within two months, eight people lost their lives in wild elephant attacks in the State. The government is trying to “suppress” the voices of the protesters,” said Fr. Karakkatt.
The Congress launched a protest with the victim’s body in Kothamangalam town around noon before an inquest and post-mortem examination could be conducted. Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose; MLAs Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Eldhose Kunnapillil; and Ernakulam District Congress Committee president Muhammad Shiyas led the protest. The police resorted to cane charging around 2.30 p.m., pulled down the makeshift tents erected by the protesters, and shifted the body back to the taluk hospital on an ambulance around 3 p.m. Mr. Kuzhalnadan and Mr. Kunnapillil began a hunger strike at the Post Office Junction at 6 p.m. demanding compensation to the victim’s family and a permanent solution to man-wildlife conflict.
(With inputs from Kochi bureau)
