IDUKKI: The forest officials are all set to launch ‘Mission Arikomban’ to capture the rogue tusker that has terrorised the Idukki district, on Saturday. The tusker, which got its name ‘Arikomban’ due to its greed for rice, has killed several people and damaged more than a dozen houses in the Santhanpara and Chinnakkanal panchayats in the district.
“Majority of the residents are plantation workers. We have been living in constant fear as the tusker regularly attacked our estate houses,” said Ram Kumar, a resident.
While Ram says that capturing the tusker would be a relief, it alone won’t solve the wild elephant issue in the Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats. “Besides Arikomban, there are other trouble makers named ‘Chakkakomban’ and ‘Mottavalan’, who are also ‘serial killers,” said Ram.
The residents have been demanding the capture of the pachyderm for quite some time. However, the process was expedited only after the elephant killed forest watcher Sakthivel of Kozhipannakudi in Chinnakkanal on January 25.
Meanwhile, Forest Minister A K Saseendran, in a meeting convened with the forest officials in Kumily last week, said if the team can capture the tusker successfully, steps will be taken to find a solution to the wild elephant menace.
144 to be imposed
A meeting convened under the leadership of District Collector Sheeba George in Devikulam on Tuesday has imposed the following restrictions
Section 144 of CrPC is to be imposed in selected wards of Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats on Saturday
Traffic in Suryanelli and BL Ram areas to be restricted
Vloggers to be denied permission to enter the area
Police and motor vehicle department to regulate traffic on Adimaly route through which the captured tusker will be taken to the elephant training centre in Kodanad
Two ambulances will be deployed in the area.
A fire and rescue team will also be deployed to tackle any emergency situation