The body of Indira Ramakrishnan, 70, a resident of Kanjiraveli, near Adimaly who was trampled to death by a wild tusker was cremated on Tuesday.
Unlike the mass protests in Kothamangalam town where her body was taken for inquest and post-mortem examination on Monday, the funeral passed off peacefully.
Devikulam MLA A. Raja and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Idukki convener attended the funeral. However, representatives of the Revenue and Forest departments were conspicuous by their absence. Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine and Industries Minister P. Rajeeve handed over the body to the relatives on Monday night.
Indira Ramakrishnan was trampled to death by a wild elephant within the Neriamangalam forest range under the Munnar division on Monday morning. She was the fifth victim in attacks by elephants in two months in the Munnar division alone.
On January 8, a woman plantation worker, Parimalam, 48, was killed in a wild elephant attack at Panniyar, near Santhanpara. This was followed by the death of K. Palraj, 79, of Coimbatore at Thenmala, near Gundumala, on January 22. On January 26, BL Ram resident Soundrajan, who was attacked by a wild elephant named Chakkakompan at Chinnakkanal died while in treatment in a hospital. On February 26, Kannimala Top division native and auto driver Suresh Kumar was killed by a wild elephant near Kannimala Top under Kanan Devan Hills Plantations.
In a statement, Minister of Forests A.K. Saseendran said the department had strengthened activities to mitigate wild elephant attack in the Munnar forest division. Three rapid response teams (RRT) were working in the Munnar and Adimaly areas. Drone camera monitoring had also been introduced. Steps were also being taken to install artificial intelligence-enabled cameras in forest fringes.
A meeting to be attended by Idukki Collector Sheeba George, High Range Circle Chief Conservator of Forests(CCF) Arun R.S., and representatives of various tea plantations in Munnar will be held on Wednesday. The meeting will discuss steps to check the rising human-elephant conflict in Idukki.
Meanwhile, the Idukki Collector called for an all-party meeting at the collectorate on March 12 at 10 a.m. to discuss the issue. The Minister for Forests and the Water Resources Minister will attend the meeting.
