Nilgiris villagers block road over elephant attacks; 3 killed in two months
P Vijayaraj had gone for a walk to his house at Sivagiri Nagar through a tea estate from Kengarai on Sunday evening, when a wild elephant is said to have emerged from the dark and attacked him, after a chase.
Villagers protest against frequent elephant attacks in Kotagiri
COIMBATORE: Villagers resorted to protest after a 34-year-old man succumbed to injuries sustained in an elephant attack in Kotagiri in the Nilgiris.
P Vijayaraj had gone for a walk to his house at Sivagiri Nagar through a tea estate from Kengarai on Sunday evening, when a wild elephant is said to have emerged from the dark and attacked him, after a chase.
“He was rushed to the Kotagiri Government Hospital and then to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). However, he succumbed to injuries on Monday,” police said.
As the news of his death spread out, people from more than ten villages resorted to blocking the road in Kotagiri demanding concrete action against man-animal conflicts. They blocked a TNSTC bus which came by the way causing traffic disruption for more than two hours. The villagers claimed that two women, Nirmala (53) and Janaki (60), both from Kengarai, lost their lives in elephant attacks in the last two months.
Deceased Vijayaraj
A joint team of officials from police, forest, and revenue departments held talks with the protesting villagers. They assured a ten-member team of the forest department would monitor and drive away wild elephants by camping in the conflict-prone area. Villagers withdrew their protest upon the assurance. An initial compensation of Rs 50,000 was given to the kin of the deceased.
In another incident in Valparai, a 57-year-old woman was severely injured and another woman escaped with simple injuries in an elephant attack at Mayiladumparai Estate in the hills.
More than 30 workers engaged in plucking tea leaves in the estate ran helter-skelter after a wild elephant entered the estate on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala interstate border. The elephant chased and attacked Rajakumari (57) from Anna Nagar leaving her with severe injuries, while another woman escaped with simple injuries. They both were rushed to Urulikkal Estate Hospital, from where Rajakumari was shifted to Valparai Government Hospital.