Munnar witnesses protests following death of auto driver in wild elephant attack

Protests erupt in Munnar after wild elephant attack, leading to hartal and demands for prevention measures.

A day after an autorickshaw driver was killed an attack by a wild tusker in Munnar, plantation workers and residents staged several protests in the town on Tuesday.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) observed a hartal in Munnar on the day in protest against the repeated attacks by wild elephants. The Congress and the BJP also staged protests against the Forest department, accusing it of failing to prevent the frequent incursion of wild animals into human habitats.

Plantation workers and local residents organised a road blockade in Munnar by blocking three major roads connecting Munnar and demanding that immediate action be taken to prevent the recurring wild elephant attacks. The protest and hartal were called off after the officials handed over ₹10 lakh to the family of the deceased , and an all-party meeting decided to take immediate steps to prevent the wild elephant attacks in the Munnar division.

Munnar Kannimala top resident Suresh Kumar (Mani) was killed and two others were injured in an attack by a wild elephant at Kannimala top under the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP), near Munnar, on Monday. The incident occurred around 9.30 p.m. Kannimala resident Esakki Raja and his family were returning from Munnar to Kannimala Top after attending the school anniversary celebration of his daughter Priya. Two migrant workers were also in the vehicle. A wild elephant attacked the vehicle when it reached the Assistant Manager’s bungalow area at Kannimala’s Top. Local residents said the wild elephant lifted and threw the autorickshaw driver, and he died on the spot. Esakki Raja, 45, and his wife Regina, 39, were injured and are under treatment at Tata Tea Hospital, Munnar. Their daughter Priya and the migrant workers in the vehicle escaped unhurt.

Suresh Kumar is survived by his wife Indira and children Vignesh and Yogeshwaran. His body was handed over to his relatives after a post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose has begun an indefinite hunger strike demanding that action be taken to address the recurring wild elephant attacks in the forest fringes, including the Munnar town. “ After a wild elephant killed a person in Thenmala last month, the State government agreed to set up a special Rapid Response Team (RRT) in Munnar to monitor the movements of wild elephants. But the special RRT has not yet started functioning,,” said Mr Kuriakose.

A herd of wild elephants reached Munnar Colony, near Munnar town, on Tuesday morning. According to local residents, a herd of five elephants arrived at the colony from the nearby tea plantation. Upon hearing the loud sounds made by the the people, the elephant herd moved away from the colony.