KALPETTA: Forest officials temporarily called off their efforts to tranquillise and capture Belur Makhna, the wild elephant that trampled a farmer to death at Padamala in Mananthavady on Saturday, after they could not find an apt opportunity to dart the radio-collared jumbo on Sunday. The drive will resume early on Monday, the authorities said.
Meanwhile, irate residents gheraoed the forest personnel while the latter were returning after concluding the day’s efforts at Mannundy near Bavali around 5.30pm. The protesters raised concerns about their safety as the elephant was still free. They relented after forest officials promised to take suitable measures, including patrolling, for their safety. Forest officials had faced similar protests by residents at Bavali and Kattikulam too.
Taking into account the jumbo’s movement and people’s safety, the forest department has deployed 13 teams led by section and beat officers to carry out patrolling in affected areas. Night vision drones will be used to monitor the areas. Besides, police patrol teams will also be on watch. As a precautionary measure, the Wayanad district collector has declared holiday for educational institutions in Thirunelly grama panchayat and divisions 12, 13, 14 and 15 of Mananthavady municipality on February 12.
Around 150 forest department personnel, led by five divisional forest officers, and four veterinary officers led by Dr Ajesh Mohandas are part of the mission to capture Belur Makhna. “The elephant moved around 15km from Padamala, where it killed a person on Saturday, and was spotted at Mannundy area by 6.30am on Sunday. It didn’t travel much during the day,” said Martin Lowel, North Wayanad DFO.
Joint team of forest officials and RRT members to carry out patrolling
“When our kumki elephants tried to approach it, it started moving, making darting difficult. By 5.30pm, when we temporarily halted our mission, the jumbo was last seen at the Mannundy forest area,” he said.
Lowel said the jumbo, which travelled just 5km during daytime, went into the forest in the evening. “There is a tribal colony around 5km from the spot where it was last spotted. A team of 150 personnel, including forest watchers, officials, rapid response team (RRT) members, local residents and medical team will be patrolling the area at night,” he said.
Meanwhile, the funeral of Ajeesh Joseph, who was killed by the elephant, was held at the St Alphonsa Church, Padamala. The service was officiated by Mananthavady Bishop Jose Porunnedom. He blamed the government for the recurring wild animal attacks in the region.
“Even if the captured elephants are released in forests in Karnataka, they will reach Wayanad again. Aji’s (Ajeesh’s) death should open the eyes of authorities. Successive state governments have cut down forests of Wayanad and planted teak and eucalyptus trees. Due to the destruction of forests, wild animals are entering human settlements. It were not natives who destroyed the forest, but successive governments. They could not conduct an audit or study the forest,” the bishop said in his speech.
On Sunday, Forest Minister AK Saseendran said an inter-state coordination committee will be set up to deal with issues, including wild animal attacks, near forests on the Kerala-Karnataka border. The committee will meet by February 15 and decide on the steps to be taken.
He also announced the decision to form a special cell by consolidating three divisions of the Wayanad forest department for keeping human-wildlife conflicts in check and their prevention.