Kochi: Kerala is witnessing an alarming rise in human-animal conflict. Just a day after a female engineering student died in a freak mishap involving elephant, a man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in forest-fringe village of Kuttampuzha in Kothamangalam on Monday night. The deceased has been identified as Eldhose (40), a native of Knachery.
As per preliminary reports, Eldhose was on his way home from work when he was attacked by the wild elephant. He died on the spot.
Following the incident, locals gheraoed the forest officials and demanded concrete action to prevent such wild animal attacks. Owing to frequent elephant intrusions into human settlements, residents have reportedly sought solar fencing and other protective measures, but these have not been fully implemented yet.
Collector Announces Rs 10 Lakh Aid, Mitigation Measures Begin
Meanwhile, the District Collector released an immediate financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the deceased. The locals ended the protest after a cheque of Rs 5 lakh was handed over to the family at the mishap spot. As demanded by the locals, the local administration has initiated construction of trenches and installation of electric lights in the area. The Collector has also assured that the work on solar fencing would start by December 21. A review meeting will be held on December 27 to see whether these mitigation measures are being implemented. Following the Collector's assurance, the victim's body was shifted to Kothamangalam Hospital, and will be handed over to the relatives after autopsy.
Priyanka Gandhi Raises Human-Wildlife Conflict In Parliament
Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, raised concerns surrounding increasing man-animal conflicts in her constituency. Addressing the Lok Sabha on December 16, Priyanka highlighted the profound impact such conflicts have had on local communities over the last few years. She emphasized the need for enhanced compensation, particularly for farmers and common people, and urged the government to address these grievances at the earliest.
In March this year, the State Cabinet had declared human-animal conflict a ‘State-specific disaster’, owing to fatal wildlife attacks on people and huge crop loss in Kerala.
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