Idukki: An elderly woman was killed in a wild elephant attack at Neriamangalam here on Monday. This is the sixth life lost to human-animal conflict in the past two months. The deceased Indira Ramakrishnan from Kanjiravelli in Kerala's Idukki district was a home-maker. She was 70.
The wild elephant attacked Indira at around 9am on Monday while she was harvesting arrowroot at her farm. She died en route to the hospital. Her mortal remains are at the Taluk hospital in Kothamangalam.
The latest incident comes amid the rising protests against human-animal conflict in the state. In the past two months, Munnar Division has witnessed the tragic loss of five lives due to wild elephant attacks. An auto rickshaw driver Suresh Kumar was killed in wild elephant attack in Munnar a week ago. On January 8, Parimalam, a 48-year-old plantation worker, fell victim to such an attack at Panniyar, near Santhanpara.
Just two weeks later, on January 22, K Palraj, aged 79 from Coimbatore, was attacked near a wedding reception venue at Thenmala, close to Gundumala in Munnar. On January 26, BL Ram resident Soundrajan succumbed to injuries sustained in an encounter with a wild elephant named Chakkakompan at Chinnakkanal, despite medical treatment. Three lives were also lost to human-animal conflict in Wayanad district as well.
