Second mahout to be killed by elephant within 5 days in Kerala, India

© Yathin S Krishnappa

Asian elephant.

}The district authorities have resolved to strictly enforce the prescribed norms for management of captive elephants in the wake of second incident within five days in which a man was killed by an elephant in Karuvatta, near Haripad.

In the latest-such case, a 52-year-old mahout was crushed to death by an elephant, named Chirakkadavu Thiruneelakandan, which was brought from Ponkunnam during a procession that was taken out in connection with a festival at the Thiruvilanjal Devi Temple on Sunday by around 10 p.m. The mahout, Unnikrishnan Nair, who hailed from Padeethathil house in Karuvatta, was knocked down and was trampled by the elephant. The animal could be brought under control only within two hours.

The incident came close on the heels of another in which a 72-year-old ex-serviceman was killed by an elephant. Which ran amok when being readied for the festival at the same temple at Karuvatta. The victim, who was reading a newspaper on his courtyard, was hit by the elephant's trunk and was killed on the spot. The pachyderm was brought under control, but not before it damaged several vehicles and other properties along the busy Karuvatta-Haripad stretch.

According to him, the necessary permits must be obtained for parading elephants by producing the relevant certificates at least seven days prior to the procession. The applications must be submitted at either the office of the Assistant Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry) at Kommady or the Divisional Forest Office at Ranni. The required documents include the fitness, insurance, ownership, veterinary doctor's and microchip certificates, data book and the notice of the particular programme.

The organisers must inform the details of the programme to the nearest police station and the Forest Range office at least 72 hours prior to the function. As per the prescribed norms, elephants cannot be paraded within 11 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. Special permission must be obtained from the Collector if any unavoidable circumstances related to belief and temple rituals arose. In any case, the animal can be paraded for only a maximum of six hours in a day.

The district authorities will no longer issue permits for using elephants at festivals that were introduced after 2012. A minimum distance of 3 km must be maintained for elephants from the public. Elephants must not be made to walk on tarred roads at noon.