Elephant attack deaths in Kerala's Aralam sparks protest as locals demand action

Thiruvananthapuram: The death of a couple in a wild elephant attack at Aralam in Kannur district of Kerala on Sunday has brought into question the state government's focus on mitigating human-animal conflict.

The construction of a ten kilometer wall proposed at Aralam in the wake of back-to-back wild animal attacks has yet to be completed, with only around four kilometeres of the wall constructed thus far.

The wall, proposed at a cost of Rs 38 crore to the state exchequer, is being constructed by the state public works department, with funds from the Scheduled Tribes development department. Work on the project had begun more than a year ago, towards the end of 2023.

As the project drags on, it should be noted that at least 14 people are said to have perished in wild elephant attacks on tribal settlements in Aralam over the last 10 years.

Aralam panchayat president K P Rajesh of the CPI(M) said that the construction was progressing but slowly. The wall could be an effective solution to prevent wild elephants from entering the human settlements, he said.

Local people said that the government decided to construct the wall only after their peristent demands. State public works minister P A Mohammed Riyas had even assured people that the wall would be completed soon.

Meanwhile, agitated locals on Monday blocked political leaders including CPI(M) Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan from visiting the region following the death of a couple—Velli and Leela.

They insisted that forest minister A K Saseendran should visit the region as the lapses on the part of forest officials in taking steps to mitigate human-animal conflicts had led to back-to-back deaths.

The minister later reached the spot and assured people that immediate steps would be taken to avert any more deaths arising from human-animal conflict in the region.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be holding a meeting on February 27 to discuss the frequent deaths due to human-animal conflict in the state.