KOCHI: The state government’s decision to translocate a rogue elephant to the Parambikulam reserve forest from an elephant kraal at Muthanga, overlooking the report of an expert committee, has irked forest officials and residents of Parambikulam.
The officials warn the move would backfire as the elephant, known as Bharatan SI or Kallur Komban among villagers in Wayanad, is a trouble-maker.
The Forest Department had captured the tusker in November last year from Wayanad, after it terrorised villagers at Kallur and Muthanga. Since then, it has been kept at a temporary elephant kraal at Muthanga. The tusker used to raid crops near human settlements, and has tried to attack forest officers and villagers on several occasions.
Recently, Additional Chief Secretary P Mara Pandiyan issued a directive to the Forest Department to release the elephant into the forest immediately. The chief conservator of forests, Palakkad, was asked to supervise translocation of the tusker to Parambikulam from Muthanga and to ensure its safe release into the forest. The officer was also instructed to video-graph the entire process.
The decision was taken overlooking a report submitted by a seven-member committee headed by Kerala Forest Research Institute former director P S Easa, who termed the move a ‘risky experiment.’
“Shifting a rogue elephant to another place will not solve the issue as it could create trouble in the new place. It is equivalent to shifting the problem from one place to a relatively more ‘convenient’ place. The chances of the elephant, which has already developed intimacy with people, invading human habitats at Parambikulam are very high as elephant herds in the region are unlikely to accept it. The move will put the lives of tribesmen at Parambikulam in peril,” stated the report.
Fr Thomas J Parayaidom, vicar of St Mary’s Church, Vadattuppara, said people living near the forest at Edamalayar were witnessing man-animal conflicts frequently, due to a sharp increase in the elephant population.
“We will take up the matter with Forest Minister K Raju and request him to desist from the move,” he said.