THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is implementing numerous programmes to ensure the protection of wild animals, including the provision to ensure food and water within the forest, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He was speaking after the inauguration the first phase of the Kottoor Kappukadu Elephant Rehabilitation Centre, a first-of-its-kind in the country, here on Sunday.
As many as 441 water storage facilities and check dams have been built to provide safe drinking water to wild animals during summer. The programme was aimed at alleviating the escalating human-wildlife conflicts. The decline in forest cover, the cultivation of crops that attract wild animals to the forest areas, the increasing population density in forest fringe areas and changes in the wildlife corridors have contributed to the increase in human-wildlife conflict in the state. To prevent this, the government has strengthened the SMS alert and public participation through vigilance committees, he said.
In addition to providing shelter to the elephants that stray into residential habitats, the centre aims to protect the elephants that become prey to abuse and abandoned elephant calves. In addition, steps are being taken to provide 600 hectares in Munnar for wild elephants. Elephants should be protected and cared as it is the national animal of Kerala, he said. Though the centre is located in the 176 hectares of forest land in Kottoor forest, only 57 hectares are used for construction to ensure the free movement of elephants. He said this was the fulfilment of the promise made two years ago that Kappukadu elephant centre would be upgraded to international standards.
Addressing the gathering, Forest and Wildlife Minister K Raju said steps have been initiated to provide employment as Beat Forest Officer to dwellers of the forest. He also said that the Forest Department would organise an adalat to find a solution to the problems of the forest dwellers besides land issues. The first adalat will be conducted in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The centre will be upgraded to global standards at a cost of Rs 108 crore in two phases. The first phase that costs Rs 71.9 crore was inaugurated on Sunday. Major components of the project include an elephant museum, veterinary hospital with super specialty facility, study and research centre for students and researchers, training centre for mahouts, entrance plaza, administrative office, parking facility for visitors, cafeteria, cottages, toilet block, convention centre and amphitheatre.
The project is to be completed in 2021 by the Housing Board. Once the centre becomes a reality, it will become a major tourist attraction in Thiruvananthapuram district and the Tourism Department of the Neyyar Dam region and the Water Resources Department will also be developed. It is estimated that more than Rs 3.5 lakh tourists visit this place every year, including over 50,000 foreign tourists.
Water Resources Minister K Krishnan Kutty, MP Adoor Prakash, MLAs K S Sabarinathan and C K Harindran, district panchayat president V K Madhu, Chief Forest Officer P K Keshavan, Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar, Kappukadu rehabilitation centre special officer KG Varghese, ABP Circle Forest Conservator Anoop KT, local body representatives, various political party leaders and other officials took part in the function.