Woman killed by elephant

Irate people blocked the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway at Marayur on Tuesday carrying the body of a blind woman who was killed by an elephant while standing outside her house at Kundakadu on Monday. The agitators also blocked the Kanthallur-Marayur road and gheraoed the Forest Station at Kanthallur.

There has been a rise in incidents of wild elephant attacks in the area in the past few months. The local people said though the Forest Department had promised action to prevent wild animals from entering human inhabited areas, no steps had been taken so far to check such attacks. The road blockade ended after the District Collector assured the agitators that concrete steps would be taken soon, including the deployment of Rapid Response Team and immediate assignment of two kungi elephants in Marayur to chase away wild elephants. The Devikulam tahsildar reached the spot and held discussions with the leaders of the political parties to end the blockade.

Baby, a blind woman, was standing in front of her house at Kundanadu when she was attacked by a wild elephant around 7 p.m. on Monday. Her mother, Sarojini, sustained serious injuries when she tried to save her. She was admitted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. The woman’s father, Bhaskaran, also sustained minor injuries while attempting to rescue her.

The local people said the elephant had been spreading panic in the Kundanadu-Pampanpara area for the last few days.

Hartal

The people’s agitation council has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Marayur and Kanthallur grama panchayats on Wednesday in protest against the delay in taking appropriate action to prevent wild elephants’ attack in the area . Essential services have been exempted from the hartal.

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