New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi is leaving for Wayanad from Varanasi as he is urgently required in his Lok Sabha constituency amid the consecutive wild elephant attacks and fatalities happening in the district.
After visiting Wayanad, Gandhi will resume his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Sunday afternoon, said the Congress party on Saturday.
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Rahul Gandhi's presence is required urgently in Wayanad. He is leaving this evening from Varanasi at 5 pm. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will resume at 3 pm tomorrow, February 18th, at Prayagraj."
Gandhi's visit to Wayanad comes a day after Paul (50), an employee of the Kuruva Tourism Project, was succumbed to injuries at the Kozhikode Medical College after attacked by a herd of elephants.
In a similar incident, another elephant named Belur Makhna, which was radio-collared by Karnataka earlier trampled Panchiyil Ajeesh (42) to death on February 10. Ajeesh ran to the compound of the house to escape after the elephant charged at him. But the animal smashed open the gate and trampled him at Padamala near Mananthavady. Meanwhile, Operation Belu Makhna has entered its seventh day, and the animal continues to evade captured by forest department officials.
The back-to-back wild attacks have triggered much panic among the local people, urging them to hold multiple protests and demonstrations across the district. The all-party hartal observed across the district turned violent on Saturday. While protesters agitated with the latest elephant attack victim's mortal remains at one corner of Pulppally, another group protested with the remains of a cow killed by a wild animal. Public transport was at a standstill and businesses remained shuttered in the district on the hartal day. Roadblocks were also reported at Churam, Lakiti, Mananthavady, and Kattikulam.
The Congress yatra entered Uttar Pradesh on Friday and will traverse through the state before entering Rajasthan. The east-to-west Manipur-Mumbai yatra will in all traverse 6,700 km through 15 states and aims to highlight the message of 'nyay' (justice) while meeting common people on the way.
(With PTI inputs)
