Kerala’s Minister for Irrigation, Roshy Augustine, has vowed to take immediate action to prevent further wildlife attacks in the state after a 22-year-old youth, Amar Ilahi, was killed by a wild elephant in Idukki district. The tragic incident occurred on Sunday in the Mullaringadu area, which has seen an increase in human-wildlife conflicts in recent years.
Following the attack, Minister Augustine visited Amar’s family and assured the public that enhanced measures would be implemented to reduce such incidents, including strengthening fences around residential areas. He emphasized that solar fencing, already part of the Idukki special package, would be introduced to protect communities from encroaching wildlife. Forest officials have also been directed to improve security in the area.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran extended his condolences to the victim’s family and announced a ₹10 lakh compensation for them. He also confirmed that a detailed report on the incident has been requested from the chief wildlife warden.
However, the opposition has strongly criticized the state government’s response to the growing issue of wildlife attacks. Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, accused the government and forest department of negligence, particularly in addressing the persistent elephant menace in Mullaringadu. He pointed out that despite numerous complaints from locals, no effective action, such as trench digging or fencing, had been taken to mitigate the risks.
Satheesan also highlighted the alarming statistics, with 968 reported deaths due to wildlife attacks between 2016 and 2024, asserting that the number of fatalities has likely increased since then. He expressed concern over the government’s failure to protect citizens, especially as it pushes forward with the controversial Forest Amendment Bill, which grants more powers to forest officials.
The death of Amar Ilahi has sparked widespread protests, with local hartals being observed by the CPI-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Vannappuram panchayat.
Amar’s funeral was held on Monday morning at the Mullaringadu Juma Masjid after the postmortem, and the community continues to demand greater measures to protect residents from wildlife encounters.
