KOZHIKODE : The recurring wild animal attacks in Wayanad are gradually taking on a political hue with leaders of opposition parties launching a massive offensive against the failure of the authorities to contain the menace, forcing the state government on the back foot. Ministers shying away from visiting the affected areas, even after back-to-back tragedies, has added to the raging fury among local residents who live under constant threat from wild beasts.
Senior Congress leader and local MP Rahul Gandhi lamented that all his attempts to contact Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have been in vain. Health care facilities in the district were inadequate to meet emergency situations, and the state government has paid scant attention in improving them, he alleged. He also blamed the government for delays in disbursing compensation to relatives of the victims.
Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan alleged that Forest Minister A K Saseendran was busy watching television from his room in the guest house instead of rushing to console the relatives of victims. He said the state had not implemented the Centre’s directions for areas where human-wildlife conflicts prevail.
Shailaja visits family of wild animal attack victims in Wayanad
“Replacing the board of Mananthavady taluk hospital with that of medical college would not solve the problems,” Muraleedharan told reporters in Delhi. The chief minister should have gone to Wayanad instead of carrying out a PR exercise in Kozhikode, he added.
Saseendran, however, said he decided not to visit Wayanad taking into consideration the emotionally charged situation there. No fruitful discussion is possible in such a situation, he said, adding he has been discharging the duties of coordinating the activities of different departments.
Curiously, CPM central committee member and former minister K K Shailaja who hails from the neighbouring Kannur district, became the voice of the government in the absence of ministers. Shailaja, who visited the relatives of the victims, told them that the government is trying its best to avoid similar tragedies in future. Installation on fencing and digging of trenches to ward off wild animals are under consideration. It is unfortunate that the body of V P Paul, who died in a wild elephant attack, was brought to the middle of protests in Pulpally on Saturday. “We should all work together for a permanent solution,” she said.
The father of Ajeesh, who was killed in an elephant attack last week, complained to Shailaja that O R Kelu, CPM MLA representing Mananthavady, did not visit his house even though he was in Pulpally on Saturday. Shailaja later told reporters that the government has been doing everything possible though ministers were not present in the district.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s proposed visit to the relatives of the victims will be another embarrassment for the government, which is already under pressure. Khan is scheduled to visit the district on Monday.