COIMBATORE: A large number of villagers took out a rally in protest on Thursday after a 60-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant near his house in Gudalur on Wednesday night.
As Arumugam from Baby Nagar in Machikolli did not return home after work, the family members went in search and were shocked to find him lying dead on the narrow road stretch leading to his house on Wednesday, around 11 pm. An elephant was found standing in the nearby thicket, suggesting that the man died in its attack.
On receiving information, the Devar Sholai police and forest department arrived; however, the villagers refused to allow the forest department to take the body, while blaming them for inaction.
After talks by District Forest Officer (Gudalur) N Venkatesh Prabhu, the villagers consented to take the body around 2 am for a post-mortem at Gudalur Government Hospital.
On Thursday, the villagers took out a procession from Gudalur Government Hospital to the RDO office, raising slogans against the forest department. A team led by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Sangeetha and DFO N Venkatesh held talks with the villagers and agreed on a compensation of Rs ten lakhs, a contractual job to a member of the family, and to take measures to prevent elephant intrusions like digging a trench.
This incident comes after the Gudalur forest department deployed Kumki ‘Jambu’ at Bitherkad in Pandalur following the death of a 60-year-old man in an elephant attack a few days ago.