In this Kerala village, wild jumbos spark both anger and curiosity (Mankulam)
In this Kerala village, wild jumbos spark both anger and curiosity
(Mankulam)
Nejma Sulaiman, The New Indian Express
March 14, 2024
See link
https://www.newindianexpress.com/web-only/2024/Mar/14/idukkis-mankulam-village-where-wild-jumbos-spark-both-anger-curiosity
for photo.
Passing through Mankulam, a sleepy village in Idukki, one is likely to spot
a group of residents staging a relay hunger strike in front of the office
of the divisional forest officer (DFO) at Viripara demanding, among other
things, a concrete solution to the increasing wild elephant conflicts
plaguing the region. A little further, one might come across a huge crowd
of tourists and more residents camping on the banks of the Anakkulam River,
waiting for wild elephants to come to the river from the Malayattoor forest
range that lies opposite, and quench their thirst.
The two scenes aptly capture the curious case of Mankulam, which is home to
conflicts as well as coexistence between humans and wild elephants. It is
perhaps the lone place in the state where this happens.
Though settlements started coming up in Mankulam back in the 1960s, it shot
to fame as a tourist hub only recently, after videos of elephant herds
coming to the Anakkulam River waterhole went viral. For some Mankulam
residents like jeep driver Murukan N, the fame has brought with it a chance
to earn more. Murukan told TNIE that he earns anywhere between Rs 5,000 and
Rs 6,000 through jeep safari from Mankulam to Perumbankuthu and Anakkulam
during weekends.
“Anakkulam and jumbo herds have become a major tourist attraction. Tourists
camp for hours to catch a glimpse of elephants coming to the river to drink
water,” he said. the rush has also benefited hoteliers, resort owners and
vendors at Mankulam.
The presence of ammonium sulfate and high salt content in the water – since
the village is located just 63 ft above sea level – is claimed to be the
reason behind the jumbos preferring the river water. There is no scientific
proof of this though.
Unni Sevalkudi, a tribal forest watcher managing the solar fence built on
the river's banks, says he has been keeping guard there for a decade but
has never seen the wild elephants attack visitors even if the latter are a
little too close for comfort. However, in the past few years, Mankulam
panchayat has reported a rise in wild animal menace, jumbos included, and
farmers have been finding it difficult to cultivate crops, their main
livelihood source.
“The number of families in our parish has dropped from 160 earlier to 130
now as the others have migrated primarily due to lack of infrastructure
like roads, and wild animal conflicts,” said Fr George Pallivathukkal, the
vicar of Anakkulam St Joseph Church. He said not even a single crop can be
cultivated in the area as wild elephants and boars will destroy it in
seconds.
“The last time elephants strayed into human establishments in Anakkulam was
in June 2023. The herd entered a government school premises while the
opening ceremony was going on, to devour the plantains cultivated by
students. In other wards of the panchayat, elephant menace is a routine
affair,” Fr George said.
Though the wild elephant menace had been plaguing them for a few years, it
was not until 2024 that residents began staging mass protests or hunger
strikes. One of the triggers was a conflict between residents, panchayat
authorities, and forest department officials on January 4 over ownership of
the land near Perumbankuthu waterfall where the panchayat had built a
pavilion. Some protesters were allegedly manhandled.
Forest officials claimed the land was under the Malayattoor forest division
and hence, the panchayat had no right to build a pavilion and set up a
ticket counter near the waterfall. However, block panchayat member Praveen
Jose said they built the pavilion on the land for which the Oommen Chandy
government had issued the title deed when Kuttampuzha village was in
Ernakulam district.
The allegation that the Mankulam DFO used offensive words against the
Anakkulam church vicar, for scaring away wild elephants after parishioners
burst firecrackers during the church's annual festival, escalated matters
further. Following intelligence reports that the conflict would get more
complex, Mankulam DFO B Subhash was transferred on February 5.
Karshaka Congress mandalam president Sunny Joseph told TNIE that taking
action against the DFO was just one of the demands raised by the residents
who are on a warpath against the alleged anti-development activities being
undertaken by the forest department in the panchayat.
“The residents began the indefinite relay hunger strike on March 4
demanding opening of the old Aluva-Munnar road to traffic, sticking to the
original alignment of the proposed hill highway so that it passes through
Mankulam, distribution of title deeds to residents, demarcating revenue and
forest land boundaries in the panchayat and finding a solution to the
rising wild animal issue in Mankulam,” Sunny said, adding the protests will
continue until the demands are met.