Church body slams min over man-animal conflict

KOCHI: Day after a 40-year-old man was trampled to death by an elephant, the Catholic Congress, an outfit of the Syro-Malabar church, on Tuesday demanded resignation of forest minister AK Saseendran for not being able to stop man-animal conflicts.

- Vishnu Varma

"Such incidents are repeating because authorities are not serious about the lives of poor people living along the fringes of forests in the state. We are not against forests or wildlife, but people living close to forests must be able to lead their lives in peace. If adequate fencing was done in Kuttampuzha, this death would not have occurred," a priest of the Catholic Congress said.

A 40-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district late Monday night triggering protests by locals.

The deceased was identified as Eldhose Kodiyatt, a native of Knachary in Kuttampuzha panchayat, an area close to deep forests home to elephants and other wild animals as part of the Kothamangalam forest division.