A woman was trampled to death by an elephant at Malagalale village in Alur taluk of the district on Thursday. Mariyamma (55) was attacked by the animal around 9.30 a.m. when she had just started her work at the coffee plantation.She was married to Annappa, and the couple had two children.
Soon after the attack, residents of the village gathered and staged a protest against the State government.
They blamed the government for Mariyamma’s death, stating that if all the trouble-making elephants had been shifted she would not be dead.
Since January 2014, five people have been killed in elephant attacks in Sakleshpur and Alur taluks.
Range Forest Officer Devaraj and Assistant Commissioner S.S. Madhukeshwar went to the spot.
The residents told the officials that they would not remove the body until the Deputy Commissioner came there and assured them that the operation to capture wild elephants and relocate them would be resumed. However, the RFO and Assistant Commissioner assured the residents that the government would resume the operation soon. The RFO said that the Forest Department would take steps to prevent elephant attacks.
Relief of Rs. 5 lakh
The Forest Department has assured compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the victim’s family.
The Forest Department has captured 22 wild elephants and relocated them from Alur taluk.
As per the clearance the department obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the department is yet to capture three elephants.
Ganesh Bhat, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu , “We have captured 22 elephants so far. Owing to rain in parts of Alur taluk, we stopped the operation. The operation will resume after the rainy season”.
