A 19-year-old college student was killed and his friend was badly injured in an attack by a wild elephant at the huge patch of private forest in Wendwork Tea Estate Limited, a subsidiary of Harrison Malayalam Limited, close to Cherambadi in Pandalur, The Nilgiris district, on Friday night.
The boys, who went there on two bikes, were having a party when the incident took place.
Group
District Forest Officer (DFO) of Gudalur Division, S.N. Tejaswi, told The Hindu that a group of six boys, including the injured and the deceased entered the private forest at 8 p.m. on Friday. “It was an area with thick bamboo cover.
Around 9.30 p.m., a wild elephant that came there attacked Shaffi (19) and Shanu (19),” he said.
Shaffi was taken to a hospital in Sulthan Bathery for first aid and referred to a hospital in Kozhikode, but he died on the way around 11 p.m.
Shanu, who suffered internal injuries, is said to be out of danger but was under observation in a hospital in Kerala.
The DFO said that the four other friends fled the place and alerted the villagers.
Mr. Tejaswi said that the estate and nearby estates and forest cover were frequented by elephant movement at night and the presence of humans (the boys) would have disturbed the wild animal.
Disturbed
“Wild elephants are already disturbed by festivals and celebrations in the hamlets in the forest and presence of the humans would have worsened the situation,” he said.
The DFO said that they have carried out various awareness programmes asking people not to go into the forest and such isolated places at night.
“But, many youth do not heed to the warning and land in trouble,” he said and added that the Forest Department has given Rs. 25,000 as interim relief to Shaffi’s family.
The boys, who went there on two bikes, were having a party when the incident took place.
Group
District Forest Officer (DFO) of Gudalur Division, S.N. Tejaswi, told The Hindu that a group of six boys, including the injured and the deceased entered the private forest at 8 p.m. on Friday. “It was an area with thick bamboo cover.
Around 9.30 p.m., a wild elephant that came there attacked Shaffi (19) and Shanu (19),” he said.
Shaffi was taken to a hospital in Sulthan Bathery for first aid and referred to a hospital in Kozhikode, but he died on the way around 11 p.m.
Shanu, who suffered internal injuries, is said to be out of danger but was under observation in a hospital in Kerala.
The DFO said that the four other friends fled the place and alerted the villagers.
Mr. Tejaswi said that the estate and nearby estates and forest cover were frequented by elephant movement at night and the presence of humans (the boys) would have disturbed the wild animal.
Disturbed
“Wild elephants are already disturbed by festivals and celebrations in the hamlets in the forest and presence of the humans would have worsened the situation,” he said.
The DFO said that they have carried out various awareness programmes asking people not to go into the forest and such isolated places at night.
“But, many youth do not heed to the warning and land in trouble,” he said and added that the Forest Department has given Rs. 25,000 as interim relief to Shaffi’s family.