Mananthavady: The eight local bodies in Mananthavady taluk observed a dawn-to-dusk shutdown on Friday. The hartal was total. None of the government offices opened. The 11 banks in Mananthavady town remained shut. District collector Geetha A declared a holiday for schools and colleges to avoid a confrontation with the protesters. KSRTC buses were not allowed to leave the depot. One bus that reached Kattikulam in Thirunelly grama panchayat from outside the taluk was held up by the protesters. Private vehicles and buses stayed off the road.
The people's anger against the government was palpable on the empty streets.
They refused to accept the body of farmer Thomas P C, 50, if the government did not catch the tiger that killed him, provide Rs 50 lakh compensation to the family, waive the agriculture loan of the family, provide a government job to one of his children.
District collector Geetha, representing the government, negotiated with the all-party Action Committee for more than three hours before the protesters agreed to accept the body of Thomas, known in the village as Salu. His funeral will be held at Puthussery in Thondernad gram panchayat on January 14, Saturday.
Geetha said the government had the provision to give only Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family. It will be given by Saturday afternoon. "But the district administration will favourably recommend the government to release Rs 40 lakh to the family from the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund," she said.
On providing a job, she said the Forest Department would give a temporary job to one of Thomas's two children, depending on their qualifications. For a regular job, the cabinet should take a decision, and the district administration will recommend to the government to provide a regular job to the family. The departments concerned will initiate steps to waive the family's agriculture or any other loan from the government, she said.
The collector also said the Chief Wildlife Warden has directed the Forest officials to use cage traps or tranquilizers to catch the tiger.
The meeting was attended by Mananthavady MLA O R Kelu of the CPM, former MLA P K Jayalakshmi of the Congress, CPI's district secretary E J Babu, a representative of the Catholic Church, leaders of the Action Committee, and Revenue and Forest officials.
"We have walked away with a clutch of promises because we are not looking at a confrontation with the government but a solution to frequent attacks from wild animals," said Nishanth A M, district general secretary of the Congress.
Thomas is the sixth victim of a tiger attack in eight years in Wayanad. Before Thomas, Shivakumar (23), a Scheduled Tribe member and autorickshaw driver, was killed at Pulpally on June 16, 2020.
But the attack on Thomas at Puthussery on January 13 has scared people even more because the area has not seen a man-animal conflict, said S M Pramod, Congress president of Thondranad mandalam and teacher of Vanhode Aided Upper Primary School. The deceased Thomas was an alumnus of the school. "This area receives heavy rainfall and is not conducive for tigers. When the rest of the panchayat and the district see frequent raids by wild boars and elephants, we have not seen a monkey here," he said.
A tiger attack at Puthussery means the big cats are expanding their footprints far beyond the forest fringes, he said.
The nearest forest from Thomas's property is 10 km towards the south at Makkiyad and 10 km towards the west at Kunhome. Towards the north, there is Periya Reserve Forest, 15km away.
Pramod said the tiger at Puthussery was first spotted by a woman cutting grass near Thomas's property. "She threw her sickle and cried tiger, tiger. People who heard the cry ran towards her. Thomas was at the forefront," said Pramod.
After a few minutes, the people heard the growl of the tiger and the painful cries of Thomas. The animal had bitten off his legs and arms and dragged him for 15 m. The people found him after 20 minutes, alive but bleeding heavily.
Thomas's friend Jaimon Alakkal, a farmer and aluminum fabricator, had him on his lap while he was being rushed to Wayanad Government Medical College in Mananthavady, 12km or 20 minutes away. Thomas told Alakkal that the tiger shook and violently flung him to the ground.
The tiger attack not just exposed the government's lack of plan in tackling the intrusion of wild animals into human habitation but also highlighted the lack of advanced healthcare in Wayanad.
Wayanad Government Medical College did the first aid and referred Thomas to Kozhikode Government Medical College, 95km or nearly three hours away. "Can you imagine one medical college referring the person attacked by a tiger to another medical college?" said Pramod.
Government Medical College at Mananthavady was the District Hospital of Wayanad till 2021. "Before the Assembly elections were declared, (health minister K K) Shailaja 'Teacher' changed the board in front of the hospital to Medical College," said Nishanth. "There was no upgrade in human resource or infrastructure," he said.
When Wayanad Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi phoned Thomas's family on Friday, his brother Byju told him that Thomas could have been alive if he got good medical attention on time.
When Thomas was being shifted to Kozhikode Medical College, he started sinking. "He should have been transported in an ambulance with advanced life support (ALS) but there was none available," Nishanth said. ALS ambulance has a ventilator.
Pramod said Thomas lost nearly one hour in the "Mananthavady district hospital" and more precious time waiting for an ambulance with ALS. "He did not die of cardiac arrest as reported. He died because he could not breathe," said Nishanth.
Thomas's death is manslaughter, says Bishop
The death of Thomas in a tiger attack is the latest proof that governments -- from the local self-government bodies to the Union government -- are failing in their primary responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of the people, said the Catholic Church.
Thomas was killed not when he entered the forest or hurt wild animals or when he violated the law, said Bishop of Mananthavady Diocese Mar Jose Porunnedom. He was killed when he was working on his property. "That's why the attack amounts to manslaughter," the bishop said. "It has scared the people," he said in a statement.
By god's grace no human life was lost in the elephant attack at Sulthan Bathery, he said.
The bishop was referring to the attack on January 6. A female elephant walking on the streets of Bathery attacked pedestrian Subair Kutty. He escaped with minor injuries. The elephant had also attacked a jewellery shop, causing minor damages.
Humans have become food for wild animals because political leaders and bureaucrats do not think about how laws they frame affect humans, he said.
They divide people along the lines of politics, religions, and regions to cover up their failings, the bishop said. "The biggest mistake of the people is they allow them to do that," he said.
The bishop hoped the Kerala government will do justice by providing compensation and ensuring job security for the family soon.
Thomas is survived by his wife Sini Thomas. His daughter Sona Thomas (22) has completed an undergraduate course and a teacher training course (TTC). His son Sojan Thomas (22) did a paramedical nursing assistant course after class 12.
'Government considering birth control for wild animals'
Minister for Forest A K Saseendran said in Thiruvananthapuram that the government would move the Supreme Court to lift the stay on controlling wild animal population. He said the Department of Forest failed in arresting the rising cases of wild animal attacks and raids.
He said the government was also discussing relocating wild animals.
