Thiruvananthapuram: Public protests erupted in Kuttampuzha Panchayat of Ernakulam district after a 40-year-old man was fatally trampled by a wild elephant on Monday evening.
Angry residents accused forest officials of failing to address the escalating human-animal conflict in the region. After discussions with the district administration, the protests were disbanded.
Eldose, who was his family's sole provider, was buried that evening. The Kerala government paid a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim's family, which includes his elderly parents and a sister. Priyanka Gandhi had raised the issue of deaths due to human-animal conflict in Lok Sabha on Monday.
After the postmortem at Kalamassery Medical College, Eldhose's body was kept for public viewing at his residence in Knacheri and Marthoma Church in Kurumattam, Chelode. Hundreds of people came to pay their last respects before his cremation at the church cemetery at around 4:45 p.m.
Eldhose was fatally attacked by a wild elephant around 8pm on Monday. The 45-year-old security guard from Ernakulam had just returned home with Christmas presents for his parents when the incident occurred while he was walking home from the bus stop in the dark.
In response, the local community, led by the People's Committee, organized a protest march to the Forest Department office in Kothamangalam, demanding long-demanded measures against the menace of wild elephants, including the construction of a ditch and proper fencing.
The revenue and forest departments, which had previously failed to respond, began digging trenches on Tuesday morning, prompted by Eldhose's death and after assurances from the district collector to the community.
