Devikulam and Udumbanchola taluks in Idukki district continue to be the centre of wild elephant attacks that snuff out lives of a large number of estate workers and farmers and cause widespread destruction to standing crops.
The latest incident was at Anayirangal, near Munnar, where a man and his wife travelling on a motorcycle came under wild elephant attack. The woman was trampled to death. Nearly a month ago, a housewife was killed by a wild elephant at Poopara.
As many as 39 persons fell prey to wild elephant attacks in the district since 2002 and most of them were farmers and estate workers. The highest number of wild elephant attacks was in Munnar division. Estate areas in the region and human settlement areas in Chinnakanal village are also constantly attacked.
Reasons
An official of the Forest Department says the proximity of forest is a reason. They attack suddenly as soon as humans come near. The Chinnakanal area, where landless workers have settled, is in the wild corridor. It is estimated that nearly a dozen incidents of human deaths had occurred in Chinnakanal village. And, many people have abandoned their houses.
Another reason cited is the fragmentation of forest regions due to developmental works. ‘‘Landless workers have settled in the 301 colony in Chinnakanal, which falls in an elephant corridor,” the official says.
The areas on the Tamil Nadu border such as Nedumkandam, Santhanpara and Udumbanchola grama panchayats also come under frequent raids. Large-scale destruction to the cardamom plants have been reported here. The threat engulfs tribal settlement areas in Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peerumade taluks. Residents of Kannampady in the Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary say the animals destroy their cardamom, pepper, and plantain cultivation.
Wild boars
Apart from elephants, wild boars also attack tapioca and other tubers. Farmers have hence kept away from cultivating the crops for the past five years. Now, wild elephants have entered scene, says Soman, a farmer.
An official under the Munnar forest division says moves such as alerting farmers and tracing the movement of wild elephants are done. When a herd of wild elephants comes, the Rapid Response Team chases them to the forest area in Tamil Nadu, Arunkumar, a cardamom farmer at Santhanpara, says. However, the animals come again to destroy crops.
Compensation
There is a huge time lag in the award of compensation to the victims. The family of Korampara resident Vimala, who was killed by a wild elephant while working on a cardamom estate in July last, is yet to get compensation. Her husband says though they had been promised an emergency compensation of ₹1 lakh , they got only ₹10,000 so far.
The family of Rajani, another victim of a wild elephant attack on July 26, 2016, at Indiranagar, Marayur, says they were allotted ₹5 lakh. But no money has come so far. The living conditions of many people who are bedridden or with serious health issues after wildlife attacks are also pathetic, according to farmers’ organisations.
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