MUNNAR: An elderly man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Singukandam near Suryanelli in Munnar on Wednesday morning. Babu, 60, of Kripasanam house, Singukandam, had stepped out of the house to alert neighbours about the presence of wild elephants in the area when a wild elephant attacked him from behind and trampled him to death.
Residents of Singukandam staged a protest in front of Chinnakanal forest office carrying the body of Baby, demanding steps to save the lives of the residents from wild elephants. A meeting of Jana Jagrata Samithi will be called on April 9 to discuss steps to end the menace. Meanwhile, discussions will be held with the panchayat presidents of Chinnakanal, Santhanpara and Poopara regarding the demands. The forest officers agreed to deploy Rapid Response team to scare the elephants away. The residents demanded that two rouge should be caught and shifted from the area.
Increasing man-elephant conflict has pushed the residents of Singukandam, Chinnakanal and Anayirankal to the brink in recent years. At least 34 people have been killed by wild elephants in the area over the past seven years. Loss of habitat has forced elephants to stray into human habitations and there is constant presence of elephants in the vicinity of Anayirankal dam.
“We have been pleading with the forest department to save us from elephant attack for more than a decade. In Singukandam alone, six people were killed by wild elephants in the last five years. We are living in constant fear. Our families have been living here for the past 70 years and have not been provided title deeds,” said N G Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Singukandam.
“A herd of 24 wild elephants, including three male elephants and a male calf, has been roaming the area for the past few months. We have deployed guards to monitor the movement of the herd,” said Devikulam range officer Job J Neriamparambil.
Munnar DFO Raju K Francis said: “The Anayirankal area is a habitat of wild elephants and installation of solar fencing is not practical here. Recently, PWD allocated Rs 7 crore to construct under passes at four points to facilitate the elephants cross the national highway. The underpasses will be constructed between Devikulam and Bodimettu.”