An employee of a resort in Kuruva Island in Wayanad, Paul (55), was attacked by the rogue elephant on the morning of 16 February.
Representative image of a wild tusker. (Creative Commons)
A man who was seriously injured in yet another wild elephant attack in Wayanad passed away on Friday, 16 February.
An employee of a resort in the well-known tourist destination Kuruva Island in Wayanad, Paul (55), was attacked by an elephant on Friday morning.
He was a guide at one of the resorts and encountered the elephant while turning away people from the area due to the ongoing operation to capture the jumbo that had trampled to death another man last Saturday, the official said.
The elephant stomped on the guide causing serious injuries to his rib cage and back. He was shifted to Kozhikode Medical College, a forest official said.
He is survived by his wife Sani and daughter Sona, a Class 10 student.
Meanwhile, the Opposition UDF and the ruling LDF in the district announced a hartal in Wayanad on Saturday criticising the inaction of the state government and the Forest Department.
An air ambulance was arranged by the state government to take the injured Paul to Kozhikode Medical College from Wayanad to Kozhikode Medical College. However, since it did not arrive on time, he was taken to the hospital by road.
The recent attack occurred a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a meeting with people’s representatives from the hilly district and issued a slew of directions to prevent human-animal encounters there.
Last week a 42-year-old man, Ajeesh, was trampled to death by a radio-collared elephant in the Mananthavady area of the district.
The elephant, which had strayed into the inhabited areas of the district, was radio-collared in Karnataka.
The jumbo is yet to be caught despite the Forest department pressing into service several Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), kumki elephants and even a thermal camera to detect the pachyderm in the dense forests in the area.
In the meeting, Vijayan pointed out that human-animal conflict has been on the rise in Wayanad and therefore measures have to be taken to ensure that humans are not harmed, a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
The chief minister directed officials to set up a command and control centre as well as a war room comprising revenue, police, and forest officials, and to ensure that Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) are made permanent, the statement said.
Vijayan also emphasised the need to strengthen warning systems to alert people about wild animal presence in their area by making use of radio, community radio, wireless systems, and WhatsApp groups, it said.
Additionally, new fencing methods will be tested to keep large wildlife out and efforts would be made to clear undergrowth in private estates by using workers under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, he said in the meeting.
On 14 February, the Kerala government had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to amend wildlife protection laws.
The amendment is sought to prevent such instances that have claimed many lives and resulted in major property and crop loss.
The resolution to amend certain provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act and related rules, guidelines and advisories was moved in the House by Minister for Forests and Wild Life Protection AK Saseendran.
The resolution was moved amidst a spate of animal attacks or forays into human settlements in the state, especially in the mountainous regions, in the past few months.
There have been reported instances of wild bears, elephants, tigers, leopards and bison attacking people and livestock as well as destroying crops.
Meanwhile, several modifications to it were suggested by Opposition MLAs of the Congress-led UDF.
Except for the modification with regard to controlling the numbers of wild animals, other suggestions, such as urging the Union government to sanction ₹50 lakh compensation to families who lost loved ones in animal attacks, were rejected by the minister.
In his resolution, the minister said that the central laws, rules, guidelines and advisories protecting wildlife were stringent and hindered the control, regulation or killing of animals, such as wild boar, that come out of the forests and trouble the general public.
He said that these provisions have not been modified with the changes in time and circumstances and, therefore, need to be amended.
One of the amendments he put forward in the resolution was to give to the Chief Conservator of Forests the powers of the Chief Wildlife Warden to take immediate action in instances of animal attacks or forays into human habitations.
Another amendment he pushed for was to declare or classify as vermin wild boars that come out of the forests and multiply in human-inhabited areas.
(With PTI inputs)
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