An elephantine issue in Munnar

Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats in Idukki have become theatres of conflict between wild elephants and people. With a spike in the number of attacks and deaths lately, local people are demanding an immediate solution to the issue

On November 21, Swami Vel Thevar, a 70-year-old farmer, was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Thalakkulam, near Santanpara, in Munnar. Thevar and his wife Parvathi were on their way to their cardamom plantation when the elephant, Chakkakomban, attacked them. Thevar died on the spot. Parvathy, who had a miraculous escape, has not come to terms with the loss of her husband. 

Thevar is not the first person to lose life in an elephant attack in the region. It is estimated that 42 people have been killed in wild elephant attacks in the Munnar Wildlife Division, of which Thalakkulam is a part, since 2010.

Protests erupt after each death, demanding compensation for the victims and rehabilitation of residents, but it peters out only to flare up again with another attack. After Thevar died, people blocked the road at Pooppara, which lies 30 km northeast of Munnar, demanding immediate compensation to his family and steps to mitigate elephant attacks, following which the Forest department sanctioned ₹5 lakh to his kin.

Devikulam Forest Range Officer P.V. Vegi says the Chinnakkanal-Anayirankal region is a human-animal conflict hotspot in his jurisdictional area. “The Forest department is trying its best to mitigate it,” he says, citing destruction of habitat as a major reason for human-animal conflict. 

Elephant attacks are commonplace in Idukki. Two panchayats, Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara, at distances of about 20 to 25 km northeast of Munnar, bear the brunt of most of these attacks. Herds of wild elephants raid the plantations at regular intervals and attack people. 

People say elephant-human conflict here is the direct fallout of the decision to allow human settlements near the Anayirankal dam by the government headed by A.K. Antony in the early years of the century. The government had allotted one acre each to 301 tribal families here, ignoring a report by the then Munnar Divisional Forest Officer.

Areas such as 301 Colony, Sinkundam, 80 Acre, Panthadikkalam, BL Ram, Chinnakkanal, Santanpara, Pooppara, Anayirankal, Suryanelli, and Thalakkulam, under Chinnakkanal and Santanpara panchayats, are now facing the threat of wild elephant attacks. According to officials, most number of deaths are reported in these areas.