Rajakumari: The menace posed by wild animals on the forest fringes of a few Kerala districts continues unabated. In the latest episode a rogue elephant, locally known as ‘Arikomban’, destroyed two houses at BL Ram in Chinnakanal of Idukki district.
The tusker destroyed the homes of Mani Chettiyar and Murugan around 1.30am on Friday. Migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh, who were residing at these houses, miraculously escaped unharmed.
There were four people, including two children, at the house of Mani Chettiyar. After Arikomban knocked down the wall of the house, the parents grabbed the children and ran outside through the back door.
A seven-member family, including three children, resided at Murugan's house. The rogue tusker destroyed a wall of this house as well and those living here also ran to safety.
Arikomban has destroyed four houses at BL Ram in the last one week. A herd of female elephants was also spotted in the region.
Wayanad team to reach Idukki today
A team from Wayanad, tasked with containing the wild elephant menace in the Idukki district, will arrive at Santhanpara on Saturday. However, Dr Arun Zachariah is not part of the five-member team. He would join the team later, Munnar Divisional Forest Officer Ramesh Bishnoi said.
