KOZHIKODE: he village of Padamala, near Mananthavady, was a roller coaster of grief, fear and anger after another human life was lost in a wild elephant attack. Ajeesh Joseph, 47, was killed on Saturday morning by a jumbo that was being chased by forest guards and residents.
A farmer, Ajeesh had emerged from his house on hearing the commotion, only to see an elephant rushing towards him. In a desperate attempt to dodge the animal, he entered the premises of a neighbour’s house. But the elephant crashed the gate and compound wall and trampled him to death.
“Two kids who were in the yard witnessed the tragic incident. The entire village went into shock, which later turned into anger. We are not safe even in our homes. Ajeesh was the sole breadwinner to his family. His parents are ailing and his two children are still in school,” said Tiji Johnson, Kuruva ward councillor.
After an initial discussion, the family rejected the district collector’s offer of Rs 5 lakh in immediate compensation, and demanded Rs 50 lakh in solatium. Later, Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery MLAs, the collector, forest department officials and municipality councillors met for a detailed meeting. After a long discussion, officials provided a written assurance that Rs 10 lakh will be paid as immediate relief, with a consideration to pay the remaining Rs 40 lakh to be taken up at the next cabinet meeting.
“Officials also agreed to provide a government job to Ajeesh’s wife and to write off his farm loan with Kerala Bank. The children’s educational expenses will be met by the government,” said a relative. Ajeesh’s postmortem was carried out after the meeting. His funeral will be held at 3pm on Sunday at Padamala St Alphonsa Church.
Raising questions about the promises made by officials, residents and family members pointed to the example of another resident, Parakkal Sasi, who died in an elephant attack in 2017. Following the incident, enraged residents took hostage Begur forest range officer P Ravi who visited the village.
Mananthavady police and the sub-collector rushed to the spot. Locals agreed to end the protest after officials assured Sasi’s family of `10 lakh in compensation and recommended his son for a government job.
“My family received Rs 5 lakh as immediate relief, but not the rest of the promised compensation. I was given a temporary job as a watcher with the forest department. We have been petitioning the government at adalats and even the recent Nava Kerala Sadas, but promises remain unfulfilled. Moreover, there has been no end to wild-animal attacks, which have claimed many more lives,” said Arjun, Sasi’s son.
Promises, assurances
Officials provided a written assurance that Rs 10 lakh will be paid as immediate relief, with a consideration to pay the remaining Rs 40 lakh to be taken up at the next cabinet meeting. It has also been decided to provide govt job to Ajeesh’s wife and to write off his farm loan with Kerala Bank.