Tribal woman killed in wild elephant attack in Idukki

Youth Congress workers staging a road blockade at Peerumade town on Friday in protest against a wild elephant attack.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A 42-year-old tribal woman was killed in a wild elephant attack inside a reserve forest area here on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Seetha. According to Kottayam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) N. Rajesh, the incident occurred at Meenmutty, near Thottappura, under the Murinjapuzha forest section in Idukki.

Mr. Rajesh said she had gone to the forest along with her husband and children to collect forest produce and was trapped in front of a wild elephant, which attacked her.

Forest officials from the Murinjapuzha forest station rushed to the spot and shifted her to the Peermade taluk hospital, but her life could not be saved. Her husband was injured in the attack.

Mr. Rajesh said that the first instalment of the compensation would be handed over to the family of the deceased soon.

Estate worker injured

In another incident, a 63-year-old plantation worker was injured in a wild elephant attack near Vandiperiyar under the Murinjapuzha forest station around 10.30 a.m. on Friday. The injured was identified as Anthony Swami, a resident in Mount Estate Layams (cluster homes). Mr. Swami was on a tea break along with his co-workers in the Bethel Coffee Plantation, when three wild elephants attacked them. An elephant lifted the worker and threw him. The workers said there was heavy fog in the area and they noticed the presence of the wild elephants only when the animals were close by.

According to Mr. Rajesh, the worker was initially admitted to Vandiperiyar family health centre and later shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam. He said the construction of a hanging solar fence in the forest fringes was ongoing.

In protest against the attack, Youth Congress workers staged a road blockade at Peerumade town on the Kottarakkara-Dindigul national highway on Friday evening. The Peerumade police arrested the protesters and removed them from the highway.