Three persons have been killed in Kerala in the past five days in attacks by and accidents related to wild elephants, with the state once again getting enmeshed in man-animal conflicts after a brief lull.

The deaths took place in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts on Monday. Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has raised in Parliament concerns about the alarming rise in man-animal conflicts in her constituency. Kerala forest minister A.K. Saseendran recently tabled a report in the Assembly that said 909 people had died in man-animal conflicts in the state in the past eight years.

The state forest department has sprung into action by asking local officials to dig trenches and set up hanging solar fencing on fringe areas of forests so that elephants don’t stray into human habitats.

On Saturday, 21-year-old C. Ann Mary, who was riding pillion on a two-wheeler, was killed when a palm tree being uprooted by an elephant fell on her in the Kothamangalam taluk of Ernakulam district.

Late on Monday, Eldhose Varghese, 40, a security guard at Knachery in Ernakumal’s Kuttampuzha was trampled to death by a wild elephant when he was on his way home from work. Locals did not permit forest officials to take away the body till Tuesday evening, demanding measures to reduce such incidents. They said they had been demanding trenches and hanging solar fences for decades, but to no avail.

Local Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan told this newspaper that Eldhose was killed in a forest area.

“The demand for mitigating measures has been hanging fire for several years. It’s unfortunate that the Left government is not meeting the demands of the locals. They are helpless as elephant attacks have increased in the past few years. Only trenches and hanging solar fences can address the woes of the people,” the Congress leader said.

Ernakulam collector N.S.K. Umesh tried to explain to the protesters the steps being taken to prevent man-animal conflicts, such as the digging of an 8km trench and the plan to install solar fences from Saturday. He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Eldhose’s family.

Saseendran, the forest minister, said the absence of street lights was one of the reasons behind the elephant attack on Eldhose.

“Had there been street lights in the area, Eldhose would have seen the approaching wild elephant. I have asked the district collector to ensure that streetlights are installed with immediate effect. We had twice called for tender applications to dig trenches and install solar fences. Unfortunately, none was interested in taking up the contract work,” Saseendran said.

“I’d met the Union forest minister a few weeks ago in New Delhi and sought additional grants to implement mitigating measures in the areas where wild animals are prone to attack people. We have sought a loan of Rs 100 crore from Nabard to procure modern equipment for enhancing safety,” said Saseendran.

On Tuesday, Chandran, 62, of Thrissur district succumbed to his injuries following an elephant attack at an estate in Palakkad on the Tamil Nadu border. He was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Coimbatore after he was attacked by a wild elephant on November 10.

The most number of cases of man-animal conflicts are being reported in the districts of Wayanad, Idukki, Kannur, Thrissur and Ernakulam, which have only 26 forest rapid response teams. Forest department sources said another 10 teams were needed.