Days after a 47-year-old man in Payyampally of Wayanad was killed by Belur Makana, a wild elephant from Karnataka, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav visited his family at Wayanad in Kerala on Wednesday, February 21. Taking to social media later, the minister said he has assured the family of the deceased Ajeesh that the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was standing with the families in their hour of grief. “We will ensure full support to get their lives back on track. I pray the departed souls rest in eternal peace,” he wrote. Ajeesh’s death had triggered public protests in Wayanad over the frequent animal attacks in the area.
Earlier while speaking to reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, en route to Kerala, the Minister had said that the Kerala government was responsible to compensate the kin of Ajeesh. He also added that he would look into the ex-gratia amount that the Karnataka government has agreed to pay to his family. The Karnataka government had announced to pay Rs 15 lakh to the family, on humanitarian grounds. The Kerala government has also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the bereaved family.
Minister Bhupender also said that the Union government has been issuing advisories insisting state governments to use technology. “I was told that the elephant was radio-collared, but I want to see whether there was any lapse,” he said. The Minister will also be meeting with the family of Ajeesh.
On February 21, Local Self-Government Minister MB Rajesh, Forest Minister AK Saseendran and Revenue Minister K Rajan visited Wayanad to hold talks with the farmers, who are protesting, alleging that the government had a callous attitude and did not do enough to address the human-animal conflict in Wayanad. However, the meeting did not go as planned, as a suggestion by the Ministers that there can be restrictions on cattle rearing along forest fringes did not go well with the farmers, as cattle rearing is their main livelihood. The family of Ajeesh also expressed concern over the attitude of the forest officials with the residents.
Wayanad Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi had also visited the constituency last week, abruptly halting his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Varanasi as the protests escalated in Wayanad. Rahul also met Ajeesh’s family and extended his support.
It was on February 10 that Panachiyil Ajeesh was killed after the elephant chased him to the premises of a house and broke in, following which massive protests broke out in Wayanad. The Kerala Forest Department said that the elephant was earlier radio-collared and released by the Karnataka Forest Department at Moolahalla, which is near to Kerala border. The forest officials alleged that the Karnataka Forest Department did not give the technical support to track the movement of the radio collar of the animal. They said that even though the ID and password were passed on, there would be a lag of five to eight hours in tracking the movement.
Read: Belur Makana, wild elephant responsible for Wayanad man’s death still not found