Elephant tramples watchman to death in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A 60-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant at Waterfall Estate in Valparai on Friday.
The deceased was identified as A Thirumanikam, a resident of Valparai. He was working as a night watchman at Tennis Court Bungalow. According to forest department officials, a lone elephant roaming near the estate trampled him to death around 4am. The body was taken to the Pollachi Government Hospital for postmortem.
“The victim used to reach home from work at 5.30am. On Friday, as he failed to return even after 6am, his wife went out to search for him. His body was found near the bungalow,” said Paramasivam, general secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions.
Emphasizing the importance of recruiting a younger person for night duty and providing torchlight, umbrella and jacket, the union leader said that estate workers would often work as watchman at night after working in the estate. “The estate management would give them just Rs 2,000 as monthly salary against the minimum wage of Rs 300 – Rs 315 per day,” he said.
Paramasivam requested the forest department to take steps to prevent such incidents in future. “The estate management should also take responsibility for the incident and provide a relief fund to the victim’s family.”