COIMBATORE: On the World Elephant Day, a 60-year-old farmer was killed in an elephant attack in Krishnagiri on Tuesday.
The deceased, Kallappa from Choodasandiram village near Thally, was heading to his farm with cow dung collected from the cattle shed and came under attack by a wild elephant. He is survived by his wife Chikkamma and four daughters.
Villagers who gathered in large numbers resorted to protest and prevented the forest department from sending Kallappa’s body for an autopsy. As their village is located on the interstate Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, elephants from the neighbouring state frequently stray into their neighbourhoods, causing widespread damage to farms, claimed villagers.
Senior officials from the revenue department and police arrived at the spot and held talks with the protesting villagers and assured to take necessary measures to prevent elephant intrusions. Thereafter, the villagers allowed the forest department to send the body for a post-mortem at Denkanikottai Government Hospital.
This incident comes a day after a 62-year-old estate worker was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Gudalur in the Nilgiris on Monday. Meanwhile, Pollachi Member of Parliament K Eswarasamy on Tuesday handed over a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the migrant family of an eight-year-old boy killed in a sloth bear attack in Valparai.