KOCHI: Wild elephants have started camping in plantations in Ayyampuzha panchayat, posing a threat to rubber tappers who enter the plantation for work before the break of dawn.
Prasad, a plantation worker, had gone to a cashew plantation in the panchayat to ensure the safety of women workers engaged in vista clearance in the plantation on Monday when he was chased and attacked by a wild elephant. He is currently recuperating at a hospital in Angamaly.
“Elephant herds have been camping at the rubber plantation, putting the lives of rubber tappers at risk. On some occasions, elephants enter the village and attack two-wheeler riders. Leopards, deer, monkeys, giant squirrels and peacocks, too, have made the lives of farmers unbearable. Around 80% of the residents in the panchayat are farmers. Their livelihood has been affected,” said Ayyampuzha panchayat president P U Jomon.
Farmers in Ayyampuzha cultivate plantain, coconut, areca nut, nutmeg, tapioca and other crops. However, they are forced to stop agricultural activities due to frequent crop raids by wild animals. “The Rapid Response Team conducts patrolling before rubber tappers enter the plantations in the morning. This has helped avoid human casualties. The forest department is implementing a Rs 14-crore scheme to install solar fencing along the forest boundary with NABARD aid. The plan is to drive the elephants back to the forest and barricade the boundary with solar fencing. The department has also dug up elephant trenches in some areas,” said Jomon.
Meanwhile, residents living on the forest fringe areas of Palappally and Athirappilly in Thrissur district, Ayyampuzha, Malayattoor, Kuttampuzha and Idamalayar in Ernakulam district and Mullaringad and Neriamangalam in Idukki district have been complaining of increasing wild elephant menace. The conflict escalates as summer begins.
On Monday evening, too, Sofia Ismail, 45, was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Kombanpara in Idukki.
Meanwhile, the wild elephant menace has come down in Malayattoor due to the intervention of the forest department recently. “Though the forest department installed solar fencing along the forest boundary, elephants walk through the river and enter the plantation from the other end. However, the RRT patrols the plantation every day to check for elephants before allowing entry to tourists,” said Rajeev, a resident of Malayattoor.