71-year-old farmer seriously injured in wild elephant attack at Kanthallur

A 71-year-old farmer was seriously injured in an attack by a wild elephant at Pampumpara, near Kanthallur, on Monday

A 71-year-old farmer was seriously injured in an attack by a wild elephant at Pampumpara, near Kanthallur, on Monday.

Pampumpara resident Thomas, alias Kunjappi, and his wife Sicily were at their farmland to collect tamarind around 7 a.m. When they noticed the presence of the wild elephant, they tried to run away, but the elephant attacked Mr. Thomas. His wife had a narrow escape. Mr. Thomas was rushed to a hospital at Marayur and later shifted to a private hospital in Ernakulam.

A joint action council staged a protest in front of the Payas Nagar forest station at Kanthallur demanding immediate steps to prevent the wild elephant menace in Kanthallur grama panchayat. “Wild elephants have been roaming the farmlands and human settlements at Kanthallur for a month. Forest department officials failed to prevent the wild elephant attack,” said Kumaravel, a resident of Kanthallur.

“We demand that the Forest department take immediate steps to chase the wild elephants away from farmlands,” said Mr. Kumaravel.

On September 6, a wild elephant entered the Kanthallur town causing panic. On September 8, a wild elephant entered the compound of a resort at Kanthallur, causing large-scale damage.

Meanwhile, Marayur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) P.J. Shuhaib said the Forest department had already allocated ₹50,000 as primary financial assistance for treating the injured farmer. “It is suspected that the farmer was attacked by tuskless male elephant and after the incident the elephant moved back to the forest. The Forest department will take immediate steps to prevent the wild elephant menace at Kanthallur,” said the official.