Lightning strike kills 11 cattle at Cheruvally Estate, to affect livelihoods of plantation workers
Eleven rare 'Cheruvally Kunjan' dwarf cattle and a calf belonging to plantation workers were killed by lightning at the Cheruvally Estate. Affected families will receive official compensation for this natural disaster.
Eleven rare 'Cheruvally Kunjan' dwarf cattle and a calf belonging to plantation workers were killed by lightning at the Cheruvally Estate. Affected families will receive official compensation for this natural disaster.
Eleven rare 'Cheruvally Kunjan' dwarf cattle and a calf belonging to plantation workers were killed by lightning at the Cheruvally Estate. Affected families will receive official compensation for this natural disaster.
Erumeli: In a devastating blow to plantation workers, eleven free-grazing cattle belonging to the rare indigenous ‘Cheruvally Kunjan’ dwarf breed, along with a bull calf, were struck by lightning and killed at the Cheruvally Estate. The livestock were owned by workers living in the estate quarters (layams). Rubber tappers reporting for work yesterday morning discovered the carcasses scattered across a rocky patch of land near Kambi Layam in the Mukkada area.
The region had experienced severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours on Wednesday evening. The cattle, which graze freely across the plantation during the day, routinely return to the workers’ settlement by dusk. It is believed they were struck while making their way back. The sheer force of the bolt also damaged nearby rubber trees and left the surrounding earth scorched and cratered.
A veterinary team led by In-charge District Veterinary Officer Dr Joji Mathew, along with Erumeli Senior Veterinary Surgeon Dr Suja Chacko and mobile veterinary unit Officer Dr S Arun conducted the post-mortem examinations on-site. The District Veterinary Officer confirmed that the incident has been classified under natural disasters, and the affected families will be granted official compensation.
The tragedy has severely hit the livelihoods of the plantation workers. Mathew Varghese (Charangatt), a resident of Kambi Layam, bore the brunt of the loss, losing five cows, two heifer calves, and a bull calf. Fellow estate worker Ratheesh Balan lost two cows, while Sunil and Vijayan lost one cow each. Ratheesh and Sunil are estate labourers, and Mathew Varghese’s wife, Lissy, works as a rubber tapper on the plantation.