On November 21, Swami Vel Thevar, a 70-year-old farmer, was once trampled to loss of life via a wild elephant at Thalakkulam, close to Santanpara, in Munnar. Thevar and his spouse Parvathi had been on their approach to their cardamom plantation when the elephant, Chakkakomban, attacked them. Thevar died at the spot. Parvathy, who had a miraculous break out, has now not come to phrases with the lack of her husband.
Thevar isn’t the primary individual to lose lifestyles in an elephant assault within the area. It’s estimated that 42 other people were killed in wild elephant assaults within the Munnar Flora and fauna Department, of which Thalakkulam is a component, since 2010.
Protests erupt after every loss of life, hard repayment for the sufferers and rehabilitation of citizens, however it peters out simplest to flare up once more with any other assault. After Thevar died, other people blocked the street at Pooppara, which lies 30 km northeast of Munnar, hard speedy repayment to his circle of relatives and steps to mitigate elephant assaults, following which the Wooded area division sanctioned ₹5 lakh to his family members.
Devikulam Wooded area Vary Officer P.V. Vegi says the Chinnakkanal-Anayirankal area is a human-animal struggle hotspot in his jurisdictional space. “The Wooded area division is making an attempt its very best to mitigate it,” he says, bringing up destruction of habitat as a big reason why for human-animal struggle.
Root motive
Elephant assaults are not unusual in Idukki. Two panchayats, Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara, at distances of about 20 to twenty-five km northeast of Munnar, undergo the brunt of a majority of these assaults. Herds of untamed elephants raid the plantations at common periods and assault other people.
Other people say elephant-human struggle here’s the direct fallout of the resolution to permit human settlements close to the Anayirankal dam via the federal government headed via A.Okay. Antony within the early years of the century. The federal government had allocated one acre every to 301 tribal households right here, ignoring a file via the then Munnar Divisional Wooded area Officer.
Spaces akin to 301 Colony, Sinkundam, 80 Acre, Panthadikkalam, BL Ram, Chinnakkanal, Santanpara, Pooppara, Anayirankal, Suryanelli, and Thalakkulam, beneath Chinnakkanal and Santanpara panchayats, are actually dealing with the specter of wild elephant assaults. In line with officers, maximum collection of deaths are reported in those spaces.
M.N. Jayachandran, district secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says the human agreement venture is a normal instance of programme implementation with out correct research. “The then Munnar Divisional Wooded area Officer Prakrithi Srivastava had prompt the federal government to desist from permitting settlements in and round Anayirankal dam spaces. However the govt left out the file and allowed settlements on the 301 Colony, Sinkukandam and Chempakathamkudy spaces. The settlements got here blockading the herbal path of elephants, giving upward push to a struggle between each events,” he says.
The settlements brought about some 38 elephants to get trapped within the space. It set the degree for unending elephant assaults. Nearly all of the tribal households fled the realm fearing assaults. Of the 301 households that in the beginning moved to those settlements, simplest 40 stay now.
“The elephant hall connects Chinnar, Munnar, Pondimala, Mattupetty, Chinnakanal, Sinkukandam, Udumbanchola, Adukidantanpara, Chellarkovil Mettu, Mathikettan and ends on the Periyar Tiger Reserve. However the passage was once blocked when the land was once fenced via property homeowners,” says a former Devikulam Vary Officer, who refused to be known.
Farmers too attest to this reality. Saji Pattarumadam, who lives at Chinnakkanal, says human-elephant struggle has been on the upward push at Chinnakkanal and Anayirankal ever since 301 households moved to the realm.
“Wild elephants used to camp at 301 Colony, Sinkukandam and Cement Palam. Over time, the grasslands at Sinkukandam and Cement Palam were reworked into cardamom plantations. Elephants transfer to this space searching for meals. Now wild elephants come with regards to my house at Chinnakkanal, giving us sleepless nights,” he says.
Mitigation efforts
In view of the upward push in elephant assaults, the Wooded area division appointed round 25 watchers at Chinnakkanal and Bodimettu for the protection of other people.
The workforce begins its paintings at 5.30 a.m. on a daily basis and ends after 10 p.m.. “They will alert us at the presence of elephants in every area by means of WhatsApp teams. This is helping citizens to be wary. But even so, the watchers ship the are living location and images of untamed elephants in every area,” says a wooded area respectable.
Elephant watcher Manikandan works from 5 a.m. until middle of the night. He says the workforce supplies real-time indicators concerning the presence and motion of untamed elephants at Chinnakkanal, Sinkukandam, 301 Colony, and Thondimala. The initiative was once introduced after the loss of life of a 60-year-old guy at Sinkukandam, close to Anayirankal, in March this 12 months, because of the intervention of former Munnar DFO Raju Francis.
In an try to limit the motion of elephants, the Wooded area division lately made up our minds to mend striking sun fences at Chinnakkanal. This was once finished in response to a learn about performed via researcher Surendra Varma with the Asian Elephant Analysis and Conservation Centre at Bengaluru at the behaviour of elephants within the area. The learn about had concluded that elephants had been tenting within the space owing to the provision of tasty meals.
Shaktivel, member of a speedy reaction workforce created to thrust back wild elephants from settlements, says 3 elephants Chakkakompan, Arikompan and Murivalan are the troublemakers. “My workforce has been following the pachyderms since 2014. Chakkakompan and Arikompan are the extra unhealthy tuskers,” he says.
Checking the risk
Santanpara panchayat president Liju Varghese demanded a direct way to the issue, which has lingered on for a very long time now. Knowledge got in the course of the Proper to Knowledge (RTI) Act via Idukki District Congress Committee common secretary Bijo Mani display that 35 other people have been killed in wild elephant assaults within the Devikulam Wooded area Vary prior to now 10 years. “The projects to mitigate human-elephant struggle have now not been a success, and lots of the cash have been spent with out correct learn about,” he says.
But even so the danger to their lives, other people bitch that habitual wild elephant raids have brought about huge destruction of vegetation. “Deficient individuals are the worst suffering from this,” says A.T. Baiju, a Church of South India missionary running at 301 Colony CSI Church.
In line with him, relocation of untamed elephants from the 301 Colony space is the one approach out to give protection to other people’s lives. 3 tuskers are basically inflicting problems to the folk on this area and so they should be relocated straight away.
Elephant skilled P.S. Essa differs, pronouncing it’s the individuals who will have to be relocated, now not the elephants. “The problem may also be resolved simplest via addressing the area people’s considerations. What is going on at Chinnakkanal is a combat for survival via the elephants and via the folk. The federal government will have to expand a package deal and relocate the folk from the elephant attack-prone spaces. The package deal will have to come with higher livelihood to the folk. No conservation job is conceivable with out the folk’s reinforce,” he says.
Dwindling elephant inhabitants
From the natural world conservation standpoint, the elephant numbers are losing. Wooded area officers say Chinnakkanal space had some 40 elephants throughout 2004-05, which has fallen to 24 now. They characteristic the autumn in numbers to non-availability of nutritious meals, which impacts the reproductive capability of elephants. “Mating has transform uncommon on account of non-availability of nutritious meals. This has ended in the autumn within the collection of elephant calves within the area,” says an officer.
