The Idukki diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church will conduct a march and protest meeting at Poopara in Idukki on Tuesday, demanding a permanent solution to human-animal conflict issues in the district.
Idukki Diocese Media Commission chairman Fr. Jins Karakkattu said that a public march will be conducted from Murikkumthotty near the Estate junction to Poopara town. Bishop of Idukki Mar John Nellikkunnel will inaugurate the protest meeting at 4 p.m.. The diocese demanded that the government take immediate steps to limit and control the wild animals inside the forests and give more importance to human life.
“ Wild elephant attacks claimed 12 lives in the State within two months. Relatives of those who were killed said that they alerted the forest department about the presence of wild animals but the Department did not act,” said Fr Karakkattu.
Kerala Catholic Youth Movement(KCYM) members under the Idukki diocese observed a 48-hour-long fast at Adimaly town to protest the wild animal attacks. Mar John Nellikkunnel inaugurated the public meeting at Adimaly on Monday.
An all-party meeting on wild animal attacks will be held at Idukki collectorate on Tuesday at 10 am. Minister of Forests A.K. Saseendran, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine, and Idukki MP, Dean Kuriakose, among others, will attend the meeting.
