A 40-year-old tribal man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Arunamala under the Meppadi forest range of the South Wayanad forest division on Monday night.
The deceased has been identified as Mohanan, son of Krishnan of Arunamala Kattunayakkan tribal settlement, under the Mundakkai forest station near Meppadi in the district.
The incident occurred around 9.30 p.m. on the day, said Forest department sources. An elephant attacked Mohanan while he was returning home from the nearby town along with a group of people in the area.
Though he was rushed to a private medical college hospital at Meppadi by forest staff patrolling the area, he succumbed to his injuries, said sources.
On Tuesday, a group of people led by T. Siddique, MLA, blocked vehicular traffic on the Ooty-Kozhikode inter-State highway at Meppadi, seeking protection for their life and property from recurring attacks by wild animals.
The blockade, which lasted about an hour, was withdrawn after South Wayanad Forest Divisional Officer Shajna Kareem held discussions with the villagers in the presence of leaders of various political parties.
Ms. Shajna assured the villagers that ₹5 lakh would be provided to the victim’s family. Forest personnel would intensify patrolling in the area and power fencing would be erected on the fringes of forests.
Ms. Shajna told The Hindu that the Forest department had allotted ₹11 lakh to erect solar fencing around a 5-km stretch of the area and tender proceedings were in the final stage.
