With a nationwide lockdown in place, the only visitors Kerala’s misty getaway Munnar gets these days is a herd of wild elephants.
Almost every day, these pachyderms can be seen roaming on the streets like stray cattle. Local residents complain that these jumbos have vandalised shops. Humans, say locals, have not been attacked till date.
Watch | Tourists missing, Kerala’s Munnar has elephants strolling the streets
A worried forest department has decided to depute a couple of forest wardens in the town.
“It is free run for jumbos in Munnar these days. Earlier they used to come to estates but now with movement of people and vehicles restricted, they enter the town easily. They raided at least five vegetable shops in the last three days,” said senior journalist MJ Babu, who hails from the area. He said ideal conditions helped the jumbos to roam around freely and local residents have named some of the frequent visitors Padayappa, Kutti Komban, Ganesan, among others.
Angry residents are now planning an agitation to scare away these pachyderms. “With no tourists around, we are finding it difficult to piece together our lives. Raiding jumbos have made our life more miserable. What is disturbing is that their numbers are on the rise these days,” said TK Shaji, a local shopkeeper.
Two days ago, Youth Congress activists held a dharna in front of the forest warden’s office demanding steps to chase away animals. “We have deployed six forest wardens in Munnar and surrounding areas. They will track the movement of jumbos and chase them away using crackers and high-power lights,” said a senior forest officer of the area.
