KALPETTA: A 33-year-old tribal woman, who was out collecting wild honey, was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Parappanpara in the Meppadi forest range of Wayanad on Thursday. Her husband, who had accompanied her, suffered serious injuries in the attack.
The deceased, Mini, belongs to the Cholanaikkan tribe in Vaduvanchal of Muppainad panchayat. This was the fourth death in wild elephant attacks in Wayanad this year.
“As usual, Mini went to the forest along with her husband, Suresh, to collect honey on Wednesday evening. But the couple didn’t return home. She was found dead in the subsequent search by local residents on Thursday morning. The wild elephant attack took place around 10km away from Meppadi deep inside the forest. Her husband is undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. The couple has five children, the eldest of whom ins 16 years old,” said Yashodha Chandran, a local ward member.
"We're waiting for more information because the police and forest officials have gone to the forest where the incident happened to move them to the hospital," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the BJP criticised Wayanad MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Kerala's Left government for failing to address the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in the hill district.
The loss of yet another life in a wild animal attack has put the spotlight back on recurring human-wildlife conflicts in the district, at a time when the Lok Sabha election campaign is set to intensify. K Surendran, BJP state president and the party’s candidate in Wayanad, alleged that human-wildlife conflict in Kerala, particularly in Wayanad, is a recurring nightmare and both the state government and MP Rahul Gandhi have failed to address the issue.
Condoling the woman's death, Surendran said in a post on X, "The human-wildlife conflict in Kerala, particularly in Wayanad, is a recurring nightmare. The State Govt led by @pinarayivijayan and the MP @RahulGandhi have failed to address this crisis. Is Rahul only interested in votes? The wild elephants came to the town more often than Rahul Gandhi came to Wayanad. He seems indifferent to human lives, enjoying his outstation visits without truly engaging with the plight of the people. It's time for Rahul Gandhi to answer for his negligence."
No protest over loss of tribal lives in animal attacks: Rights activist
Ammini K, activist and Adivasi Vanitha Prasthanam state president, alleged that nobody is coming forward to raise their voice against the death of Mini, who belonged to the scheduled tribe community. “No one cares about visiting the families of ST victims of wild animal attacks and there is no protest against their loss,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Meppady forest range officer said that the forest department will take necessary steps to provide the mandatory compensation to Mini’s family. On January 31, Lakshmanan, 65, of Pannikkal tribal colony, who worked as an estate watchman, was found dead near the estate in Tholpetty.
The forest department and police officials later confirmed that Lakshmanan was killed by a wild elephant. In February, Ajeesh Joseph, a farmer, was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Mananthavady. A week later, Paul V P, a forest watcher from Pulpally, lost his life to wild elephant attack near the Kuruva Island Eco Tourism Centre.
