Wild elephant attack: Kerala hamlet witnesses protest

Kochi: Kuttampuzha, a forest-fringe village here, witnessed protest by local people over the death of a man who was trampled to death by a wild elephant.

The deceased man, Eldose, a 40-year-old native of Knachery here, met with the tragic end on Monday night while he was walking home after reaching the area by a KSRTC bus in Urulanthanni in Kuttampuzha panchayat.

His disfigured body was later found by a local man.

Local people said Eldose was a bachelor and the only breadwinner of his family, comprising aged parents and a sister.

Angry villagers staged a protest in the area for hours on Monday night alleging the forest officials’ lack of effective interventions to address the human-animal conflict.

They did not even allow the authorities to shift Eldose’s body from the place till the wee hours of Tuesday, demanding adequate compensation to his family and a permanent solution to the increasing human-animal conflict.

District Collector N S K Umesh and people’s representatives also had to face the heat of the villagers’ protest. At one point, the Collector even had to request the angry people with folded hands to allow the shifting of the body to the hospital.

He later assured a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the deceased man’s family and announced a review meeting on December 27 to address various matters in this regard.

Meanwhile, forest officials began the work for the construction of a trench in the area to prevent wild animals from entering the area.

The post-mortem procedures of Eldose were completed on Tuesday, and the body was given to the family.

A people’s hartal called in Kothamangalam and Kuttampuzha over the incident is on.