Farmers detained a group of forest personnel at Tholpetty on the Kerala-Karnataka border under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) on Saturday morning, seeking protection from recurring wildlife attack.
The death of a youth allegedly in an elephant attack on Friday night while he was returning home at Aranappara, near Tholpetty, had provoked the mob.
Villagers say that five persons have been killed in wildlife attacks in the district so far this year, with the death of the youth being the latest. According to data provided by the Wayanad Action Committee to prevent wildlife attack, as many as 79 persons were killed and 350 injured in wildlife attacks in 30 years in Thirunelly grama panchayat alone.
When a team of forest officers, including warden of the sanctuary P. Dhaneshkumar and North Wayanad forest divisional officer Narendranath Veluri, visited the site after the incident, the villagers detained them for six hours demanding protection from wildlife menace. They were also demanded a fair compensation and a job to the relatives of the deceased. Some villagers blockaded the Madikkeri-Mananthavadi highway too.
Later, the officers and Thirunelly grama panchayat president A. Mayadevi held a discussion with local leaders and assured them that Rs.9 lakh would be provided to relatives and a temporary job to the wife of the deceased at the Tholpetty ecotourism centre, apart from a solatium of Rs.30,000 for funeral rites. They would also recommend the government to provide a permanent job to a member of the family.
