Aluva: Kerala's Leader of Opposition VD Satheeshan claimed that 909 people lost lives in the state in wild animal attacks since 2016.
He said that this year alone, seven people were killed in wild boar attacks in places next to forests. However, the government sits idly by, just allocating Rs 48 crore in this year's budget for protection from wildlife.
He alleged that the state government had no plans for fencing or trench construction but left people and their property at the mercy of wild animals.
He further said that in Idukki's Neriamangalam, where there are wild elephant threats, there is no surveillance by the forest department. The government has to pay compensation to more than 7,000 people, including those who lost their lives and were injured in the wild animal attacks. Farming and livelihoods in the hilly areas came to a complete halt. People will react emotionally in this situation.
On the Monday incident of an elephant killing an old woman in Idukki, Satheeshan said that people protested with the deceased's body with the permission of its relatives, her husband, brother and son. He alleged that it was the state police who showed disrespect to the dead body. Police were trying to intimidate protesters by charging fabricated cases.
Satheeshan continued that the government became ready to pay compensation to the bereaved only after the protests. The administration has not taken any action on the issue of the wildlife attacks but is taking a passive approach to similar incidents that happened in different places of the state.