Hartal in Wayanad on Wednesday
Thiruvananthapuram: The death of an Adivasi man in Wayanad due to a wild elephant attack has sparked angry protests in the district.
Mani, 45, was attacked by an elephant on Monday evening while returning from a tribal colony in Vellari. His wife Chandraika who went missing after the attack was later traced by police and taken to Noolpuzha police station.
The incident evoked strong protest from the Farms Relief Forum (FRF), local outfit, which has called for a dawn to dusk hartal on Wednesday to protest against the increasing instances of wild elephant attacks in the district.
The opposition UDF held a protest in Thiruvananthapuram, condemning the government's alleged failure to protect the lives of citizens. Opposition leader V D Satheeshan reported that a woman was tragically trampled to death at Perumvanthanam in Idukki on Monday, raising the death toll from human-wildlife conflict to three this week alone.
Satheeshan, who recently led the UDF High Range Jatha, emphasized that one of the main demands of the campaign is the implementation of measures to prevent wildlife attacks.
He pointed out that no trenches, walls or solar fences have been constructed in the past four years to address the issue.
He criticised the government for adopting an indifferent attitude towards such a serious problem.
In the Kerala assembly, UDF MLA Shamsudeen raised concerns about wildlife attacks on Tuesday. He criticised the government for failing to install cameras in areas prone to such attacks, which has left people vulnerable to maneater incidents.
In response, Forest Minister A K Saseendran stated that it would be impossible to cover the entire deep forest area with camera surveillance. However, he said the department had installed cameras to monitor the movement of wild animals near human settlements adjacent to forested areas.
The minister assured that more effective measures would be implemented to protect the public.
