Gudalur: A furious mob blocked the Kozhikode-Ooty highway at Cherambadi on Thursday morning, protesting the death of a farmer who was killed in an elephant attack. The farmer, Kunjimoideen (59), a resident of Chappumthode near Cherambadi in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris, was trampled by the elephant in the early hours of the day while trying to scare the animal away from his home.

Protesters blocked the Kozhikode-Ooty highway, a critical link between Wayanad and the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, demanding action following the farmer's death. Action Council leader Gopal G said this is the fifth elephant-related death in the area in the past two years. "We will not call off the strike until higher officials assure us that power fencing will be installed in areas where elephant herds enter human habitats and provide a timeline for its implementation," he said.

Kunjimoideen's body has been moved to the Government Taluk Hospital in Pandalur for a postmortem. The roadblock began at 7 am and led to a long line of stranded vehicles. A large contingent of police and forest personnel has been deployed to prevent further incidents.

However, the protestors called off their demonstration by noon after receiving assurances from Divisional Forest Officer Vengidesh Prabhu and Revenue Divisional Officer Senthil Kumar that their concerns would be addressed. The officials informed them that the elephant herd currently roaming the area would be driven back into the forest using Kumki elephants by Friday evening. These elephants would be brought in from the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary for the operation.

Additionally, special forest patrol teams will be deployed whenever elephant herds stray into human settlements in the future. The officials also handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia to Kunjimoideen’s family.

The last rites of Kunjimoideen will be held at Juma Masjid, Cherambadi, at 11 pm on Thursday. He is survived by his wife Sulekha, son Muammed Fasal and daughter Fasna.