THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led a high-level meeting of officials to take stock of the situation in Wayanad after a high drama was witnessed in Pulpally with scores of people staging a protest for several hours with the body of the man who was killed in an elephant attack. It has been decided to hold a joint high-level meeting at Wayanad collectorate on Tuesday under the aegis of revenue, forest and local bodies ministers.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan held a telephonic discussion with the chief minister urging him to make urgent intervention and ensure the safety of the people in Wayanad.
At the high-level meeting called by the chief minister, it was decided to install 250 new surveillance cameras to monitor the movement of wild animals near human habitations. Also, coordinated efforts from the part of forest, police and revenue officials would be initiated.
“Following coordination with the border states, 25 forest officials from Karnataka will be joining the mission to nab the elephant. I’ve also asked the forest department officials to strengthen their presence in certain areas if required. There will be strong intervention to ensure awareness among the people along with a mic announcement and campaign by the local police station”, said Pinarayi.
The meeting at Wayanad collectorate on Tuesday will also see leaders from political parties and officials attending it. Apart from the chief minister, chief secretary Dr V Venu, state police chief Shaikh Darvesh Sahib, ADGPs Manoj Abraham and M R Ajith Kumar, forest department additional chief secretary K R Jyothilal, head of the forest force (HOFF) Ganga Singh, additional principal chief conservator P Pukazhenthi, chief wildlife warden D Jayaprasad and revenue principal secretary Tinku Biswal also attended the high-level meeting. Forest Minister A K Saseendran did not attend the meeting as he was in Kozhikode. He told TNIE that he, however, held two rounds of telephonic discussions with the chief minister.
“I had called a meeting of three legislators from Wayanad, district and block level leaders as well as panchayat presidents from Wayanad in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Then, it was decided to hold an all-party meet in Wayanad on February 20 as well as a second meeting with the leaders of local bodies. A joint effort involving the forest, revenue, local bodies and SC/ST department ministers is also on the cards. A joint project has to be submitted to ensure mitigation steps against the rise in attacks in Wayanad,” he said.