In another tragic incident that reflects the man-animal conflict, an employee of the Kuruva Tourism Project lost his life in a tusker attack.
The victim, identified as Paul (52), a native of Vellachal near Pakkam in Wayanad, succumbed to the injuries he sustained in an attack by a herd of wild elephants during the day on Friday evening.
The attacks by wild elephant have become recurring phenomenon in Kerala’s Wyanad district posing a grave threat to the lives of the people living in the vicinity.
With this casualty the death toll in tusker attacks in just two months rose to three.
A herd of elephants attacked Paul while he was commuting to his workplace on a two-wheeler at 9 am on Friday. Soon after the incident, he rushed to the Medical College Hospital, Mananthavady before being referred to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. However, he died at around 4 pm at the intensive care unit of the hospital.
According to preliminary reports, the cause of Paul’s death was internal injuries sustained in the attack.
Earlier on February 10, a jumbo killed Ajeesh, a resident of Padamala. Belur Makhna, who attacked Ajeesh, is still at large. On January 30 a resident of Tholpetti Lakshmanan was killed in an elephant attack.
The Congress-led UDF has given call for hartal on Saturday seeking a permanent solution to the loss of lives due to wild elephant attacks. The CPI-M-led LDF and the BJP also called a hartal on Saturday in the Wyanad district.
While the LDF has called for hartal for proactive intervention from state and Union governments to end the wild animal menace, the BJP has called for hartal for raising the relief amount in the human-wildlife conflict.