Forest Department launches mission to capture rice-eating tusker
Idukki (Kerala), Apr 28 (PTI) After a month-long legal battle, the Kerala government on Friday initiated the mission to tranquilise and relocate the notorious rice-eating tusker ‘Arikomban’ which has been terrorising residents of Chinnakanal and Santhanpara panchayats here for decades.
A team of officials led by Chief Conservator of Forest, R S Arun, has been trying to locate the elephant since early Friday morning. Over one hundred officials from the Forest department, the KSEB, the Fire and Rescue department and the Health department among others have been deployed for the mission to capture the elephant and relocate it.
Once the elephant is located, a team led by Chief Veterinary Officer, Arun Zachariah, is expected to tranquilise the jumbo.
Forest Minister A K Saseendran, who met the media in the morning said forest officials are trying to separate ‘Arikomban’ from the herd.
“Once he is separated, he needs to be brought to a suitable place where he can be tranquilised so that he can be shifted to the vehicle. ” Saseendran said.
The minister said even though prohibitory orders are in place, people are flocking the region to witness the capture of the elephant.
He urged people not to gather around as it may result in the elephant shying away which may make it difficult to capture the animal.
The Minister on Friday said once the elephant is captured, then it will be transferred based on the directions of the High Court. The Kerala High Court had on April 19 directed the expert panel appointed by it and the state government to take a final decision by May 3 on the alternative site suggested by the Forest department for translocating the ‘Arikomban’.
The direction by the High Court came after the Forest department said it had an alternative location in mind and would place the same before the Committee of Experts (CoE) appointed by it to decide the fate of Arikomban for its consideration.
The court had asked the CoE to examine the feasibility of the alternative site for translocating the tusker and to keep details of the recommended location confidential.
The court was hearing a PIL by two animal rights groups — People for Animals (PFA), Trivandrum Chapter and the Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy — opposing the government decision to keep the elephant in captivity and train it to become a kumki elephant.
Kumkis are captive elephants trained for use in trapping and capturing wild elephants.
On April 12, the court had given the state a week’s time to come up with an alternative location to translocate the elephant after the government said that people living close to Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Palakkad district were objecting to moving ‘Arikomban’ there as suggested by the CoE. The government’s submission came during the hearing of a plea moved by CPI(M) MLA from Nenmara Assembly constituency K Babu, seeking review of the court’s April 5 order agreeing with the CoE suggestion.
The court had declined to review its order, but had given the state a week’s time to come up with an alternative location.
Recommended for you
