Thiruvananthapuram: A 40-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant in Ernakulam district’s Kuttampuja panchayat on Monday night, sparking public protests.
Angry local residents have accused forest officials of failing to address the growing human-animal conflict in the area. After discussions with the district administration, the protest was dissolved.
Aldoz, who was the sole provider for his family, was cremated in the evening. The Kerala government has provided a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s family, which includes his elderly parents and a sister. Priyanka Gandhi raised the issue of human-animal conflict deaths in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
After the post-mortem at Kalamassery Medical College, Aldous’ body was kept for public viewing at his residence in Kanachery and Marthoma Church in Kurumattam, Chelod. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects at the church’s graveyard at 4.45pm before his funeral.
Aldous died after being attacked by a wild elephant around 8 pm on Monday. The 45-year-old security guard from Ernakulam had returned home with a Christmas present for his parents when the incident happened while he was walking home from the bus stop in the dark.
In response, the local community under the leadership of the Jana Samiti took out a protest rally to the Forest Department office in Kothmangalam demanding the construction of ditches and proper fencing against the threat of wild elephants.
The revenue and forest department had started the construction of the pit on Tuesday morning after the earlier unanswered, cause of death of Aldos and assurances to the community from the district collector.