IDUKKI : Susan Thomas, of Parakkudi house, Kanjiraveli, is yet to come out of trauma after witnessing the gruesome killing of her friend and neighbour Indira Ramakrishnan by a wild elephant that strayed into their property from a nearby forest on Monday morning.
The 70-year-old could not control her tears as she recalled how Indira was gored to death by a wild elephant in front of her. Susan said she never thought the elephant would come her way near her house in broad daylight. “Indira and I were talking to each other when my son raised an alarm and asked me to rush back to the house. When I ran towards our house, I saw a wild elephant approaching me from a nearby plantation,” she said.
Since Indira could not run fast as she suffered from age-related illness, the tusker turned towards her and trampled her. “It saw me and ran towards me. By the time I was able to cross a culvert near my home the furious tusker ran back towards Indira and gored her to death,” she said. After killing her, the elephant let out a loud trumpet, Susan said.
“I have been settled here for nearly 40 years and since the time I came here, Indira has been a good friend of mine. After I lost my husband when my daughter was only seven, Indira and her family were just a call away to offer any help. I cannot believe that I lost her in the blink of an eye,” she said.
Susan alleged the government has left them to the mercy of wild animals. “If the government cannot ensure protection to us, it should take steps to end our lives,” she said. “We can’t grow even a single crop due to severe wild animal menace. Our livelihood has been affected and now our lives. If I had not moved away hearing my son’s call, I too would have turned victim to the elephant attack,” she said.
Residents migrate fearing animal attack
As per intelligence wing sources, although 500 families are settled in Kanjiraveli, most have migrated due to wild animal conflicts. “Outsiders will never purchase land in Kanjiraveli. Hence, residents conduct farming on Pattaya land while staying outside the village,” Idukki intelligence wing DySP Santhosh Kumar told TNIE. “With summer peaking, the situation will worsen. Such incidents can be averted only if the forest department takes steps to prevent wild elephants from venturing out of forests,” he said.
