THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two days after a farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Wayanad’s Mananthavady sparking widespread protests, the government on Monday announced the formation of a high-level panel comprising top officials from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The decision was made at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The meeting also decided to convene a gathering of people’s representatives from Wayanad in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, and deploy two more rapid response teams (RRTs) in Wayanad, which has been bearing the brunt of frequent attacks by wild animals, including elephants.
As per the government, the panel will comprise officials of additional chief secretaries and principal secretaries rank from the three states and will be overseen by the respective chief secretaries. The panel will meet soon.
“Two new RRTs will start functioning in Wayanad. Warning systems will be strengthened. A special team will be appointed to take note of wild animals crossing the border and straying into the state,” said Pinarayi. He said a command control centre will be constituted in Wayanad under the aegis of the revenue, police and forest departments.
Other decisions
Pending compensation to be paid to people who faced wild animal attacks
Public address system to be introduced to convey information about presence of elephants and other wild animals
Additional monitoring equipment to be installed soon