71-year-old man killed by wild tusker that caused panic in Kerala town
Kannur (PTI): A 71-year-old man lost his life when a wild tusker that had strayed into the town of Ulikkal in northern Kerala a day ago was being driven away from the populated area.
The tusker's arrival in the town on Wednesday had sparked widespread panic in the area.
The lifeless body of the man, identified as Jose, was discovered on Thursday morning in an area of dense foliage, through which the tusker had passed while being driven away from the town by forest and police officials, police said on Thursday.
"There were injuries on the body which indicate he was thrown and stomped on by the tusker. The body was found in an area of dense foliage not clearly visible from the road," an officer of Ulikkal police station said.
The victim's family has identified the body, he added.
Jose, a resident of the area, had left home on Wednesday morning to see the elephant about which news had spread.
It is suspected that as the forest officials burst crackers to drive away the tusker from the town, Jose strayed into its path and could not escape to safety.
Three others were injured in the area on Wednesday in the panic caused by the wild elephant's arrival.
On seeing the elephant, panic-stricken people ran helter-skelter for safety, leading to three of them getting injured, police had said.
The elephant was later driven into the forests of the neighbouring state of Karnataka after an over 12-hour-long operation involving over a hundred forest and police personnel.
The tusker had entered the town at around 8 am on Wednesday.
Forest officials had burst several rounds of firecrackers to slowly and steadily guide the elephant back into the forest it came from. However, heavy rains in the second half of the day had played spoilsport and forced them to temporarily halt the operation, police had said a day ago.
Schools, shops and other establishments in the area had been shut to ensure no one was attacked by the elephant.
Though no public or private property was damaged by the elephant, it had destroyed some crops, police had said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
