Two workers of waste dumping yard at Munnar injured in wild elephant attack

Two workers injured by wild elephant at waste dumping yard in Munnar; calls for proper waste management system.

Two workers of a waste dumping yard at Kallar under the Munnar grama panchayat were injured in an attack by a wild elephant on Wednesday morning.

Alakamma, 67, of Rajiv Nagar, Munnar, sustained serious injuries in the attack and has been shifted to a private hospital in Ernakulam. Sekhar of Gudarvila Nettikkudy division also sustained injuries and has been admitted to a hospital at Munnar.

They along with three other workers were on their way to the waste dumping yard around 8 a.m. when the wild elephant, locally called Ottakompan, attacked them.

According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Sekhar sustained injuries while trying to rescue the woman. The other workers, Ramachandran (55), Durai (57), and Paramasivam(65), escaped with minor injuries.

A senior Forest department official said that the Munnar panchayat dumped waste, including vegetable waste, on the roadside at Kallar, and it attracted wild elephants. “The panchayat used to dump the waste in the dumping yard, but now the local body is dumping it on the Munnar-Kallar roadside. Two wild elephants were camping in the area,” said the official.

Munnar panchayat vice-president V.S. Balachandran said that earlier officials from the Local Self-Government department (LSGD) had inspected the dumping yard and suggested solar fencing around it. “The panchayat doesn’t have funds to erect the fencing. The panchayat is ready to build it if the Forest department or government provides financial assistance,” said Mr. Balachandran.

Environmentalist M.N. Jayachandran said that waste dumping attracted animals, including wild elephants and wild gaur, to the yard. “In January, after wild elephants were found eating plastic waste from the yard, the Kerala High Court and State government intervened and directed the panchayat to arrange proper waste management system. However, the panchayat authorities failed to take any steps,” he said.