CHENNAI: Questioned by a reporter on the recent tragic killing of a four-year-old girl by a leopard at Valparai in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu Forest Minister R S Rajakannappan on Wednesday termed attacks by elephants and other animals as “usual” occurrences and asserted that government was not the cause of these “day-to-day” happenings.
The minister was interacting with the media after an event organised by his department at the Vandalur zoo near Chennai. The minister’s response indicated that he had perceived the question as being critical of the state government.
Minister Rajakannappan went on to assert that what was important was whether the government was taking action or not.
“Forest department is certainly taking action. Those bitten by insects come here. They come to us to catch (stray) dogs. Forest department is only handling everything,” he said.
‘Govt acting on both global & local issues’
When the reporter pointed out that the minister’s reply sounded apathetic, considering that a life was lost, the minister agreed that loss of lives is serious, but went on to enquire to which media organisation the reporter belonged to.
Digressing from the issue, the minister remarked that the government was being blamed for everyday incidents. “If someone commits a murder due to personal reasons, what can the government do?” he asked. “However, in matters concerning the public, our CM have taken action,” he added.
He further stated that the forest department had offered compensation for deaths, including the Valparai incident. “I’m not saying no action is being taken. If an incident occurs, is the police not responding? Are we not taking action against drugs?
The government is certainly acting on both global and local issues,” he said. Later, in a one-on-one exchange with a reporter, the minister reiterated the compensation aspect. When asked if money was the only solution, he responded vaguely, citing case filings and even the Pocso Act, which seemed irrelevant.