POLLACHI: A 28-year-old assistant manager of a coffee estate in Valparai claimed that he narrowly escaped from a jumbo that crossed his path on Wednesday. P Karanpatra, who was on a field visit, said that he came across the pachyderm at Surge Shaft area. As he attempted to escape from the animal, he fell from his two-wheeler and sustained injuries. Hearing his screams for help, estate labourers came to his rescue. Karanpatra has informed Manamboly Forest Ranger Arokiyaraj Xavier that he was attacked by an elephant. However, the forest official expressed doubts over the claim. Xavier said that “cooking up dramas of wild animal attack have been on the rise for the last six months to avail compensation”. The State provides Rs 3 lakh for death caused by wild animal and Rs 25,000 for injuries. Xavier said that a drama was cooked up by a 32-year-old estate worker Sivakami after she was chased by a wild elephant on February 14. According to wildlife scientist M Anandakumar of Nature Conservation Federation, a total of 36 persons were killed by elephants between 1994 and 2011. He suggested that incidents of wild elephant attack could be prevented by alerting the locals on the movements of pachyderms in the areas through SMS, local TV channels and electronic warning systems.
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