Industries and Law Minister P. Rajeeve on Monday said the State government had already handed over a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the family of the woman trampled to death by a wild elephant at Kanjiraveli near Adimali in Idukki district.
Talking to the media after consoling the family, Mr. Rajeeve said the usual practice was to pay the compensation in two lots of ₹5 lakh each. He said Minister Roshy Augustine would hold an all-party meeting on the issue of human-wildlife conflict in Idukki.
The State is dealing with a new challenge of human-wildlife conflict, which is faced by other States as well, and the government is making all possible efforts to counter it. Immediate measures to mitigate the human-wildlife conflict would be taken in the affected area where the tragedy took place, he said. Tender for setting up hanging fences has been completed and the construction will begin this month itself. Though a more time consuming process, surveillance cameras will also be installed.
Mr. Rajeeve shot down the allegation that District Collector N.S.K. Umesh was stopped from going to the protest site and negotiating with the protestors. Mr. Umesh, who was also present, said nothing of the sort happened.
