A student, who was on her way to college with her brother, was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Devarapura in Kodagu district on Friday.
The victim has been identified as P.M. Safana (20), a second-year B. Com. student of Cauvery College, Gonikoppal. She was the daughter of P.A. Mustafa, who works in Tharikatte estate, and Sainaba of Bhadragola village in Virajpet taluk.
Safana was on a scooter with her brother Shakeel and they were passing through the narrow lanes of a coffee estate when the elephant attacked them. The elephant was behind a tree and appeared on the road on hearing the rumbling noise of the approaching scooter.
Before Safana and Shakeel could move away from the elephant’s path, it attacked them by pushing down the scooter. Safana fell on the ground and was trampled to death, while Shakeel managed to escape.
A bright student
Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar, who expressed anguish over the girl’s death, said Safana was a bright student and had topped the ‘Scroll of honour’ in Madikeri district in the II PU examination.
Local residents staged a snap protest and expressed their dismay over the incident. They raised slogans against the Forest Department and sought a solution to the frequent entry of wild elephants into human habitation.
Senior Forest Department officials visited the spot and conducted an inquiry. They announced ₹5 lakh compensation to the victim’s family.
Kodagu district is the epicentre of man-elephant conflict and Safana’s death on Friday is the ninth such incident in the district during the current year 2016-17.
In 2015-16, there were 13 deaths in the district, eight in 2014-15, eight in 2013-14, and 6 deaths in 2012-13, according to Mr. Manoj Kumar.
The district, which supports vast swathes of forests, is also home to the Nagarahole National Park, besides Brahamagiri and Pushpagiri forests — all of which are contiguous to coffee plantations. But, with expanding human population, disturbance, degradation and destruction of habitat, the conflict situation seems to be escalating with no easy solutions.
Though there is rumbling in certain circles that increase in elephant population due to protection measures has escalated conflict, synchronised elephant census results indicated that the elephant population range in the State has remained stable — around 6,000, over the last few decades.
As per the 2012 Synchronised Elephant Census, there are an estimated 6,072 elephants in the State. The next census is slated to be held in May this year.
