The ration shop at Panniyar, near Santhanpara in Idukki, that had come under attack by wild tusker Arikompan nearly 12 times after 2019, has been rebuilt.
The new building will be inaugurated on Monday. The ration shop was run in a building owned by Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) at Panniyar, near Santhanpara. The shop hit headlines after the tusker repeatedly raided the shop to eat rice, wheat, sugar, etc.
According to the ration shop owner P.L. Antony, the tusker attacked the shop five times in January 2023. The last attack occurred on January 27, when the building was fully destroyed.
After the incident, Idukki District Collector Sheeba Geroge directed Civil Supply officials to temporarily shift the ration shop to the estate workers’ cluster house (layams) area. The Collector also directed HML officials to construct a new building for the ration shop at Panniyar.
Mr Antony said that the construction work of the building was completed last week. “There are 520 card holders under the Panniyar shop. A herd of 15 wild elephants was now camping in the area. After the translocation of tusker Arikompan, there was no other wild elephant attack on the shop. The Forest department already fixed solar fencing on the ration shop premises,” said Mr Antony.
According to officials, the ration shop was started at Panniyar in 1966 for plantation workers in the area. For the past several years, Arikompan repeatedly raided the ration shop and homes under Santhanpara and Chinnkkanal panchayat and thus earned the name Arikompan. The tusker also used to raid ration shops at Panniyar and Anayirankal.
He was captured from Chinnakkanal on April 29 and translocated to the Periyar Tiger Reserve on April 30. Later, the Tamil Nadu Forest department captured the tusker on June 5 and released it to the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
Devikulam range officer P.V. Vegi said that after the translocation of Arikompan, no attacks were reported on homes and ration shops under the Chinnakkanal and the Santhanpara panchayats. “Raiding of the shops and homes by the tusker caused sleepless nights to people,” said Mr Vegi.
Udumbanchola taluk supply officer Richard Joseph said the new building would ensure proper distribution of the food items in the area.
