It is 20 days since Arikompan left Chinnakanal, yet the tusker remains etched in the minds of some people so much that they have formed associations in its name.
A tea shop named ‘Arikompan fans’ tea stall’ has come up at Gandhi Nagar, near Poopara, where a group of nine sees it as a way to express their love and affection towards their favourite tusker.
The shop was opened by Reghu, a resident of Poopara, a place close to the spot from where the tusker was captured on April 29. “For the past nine years, I monitor the movements of wild elephants in the area and especially of tusker Arikompan,” said Mr Reghu. The other members of the fans’ team are Jeeva, Pradeep, Abhilash, Biji, Babu, Karthik, Anas, and Balu.
“The shop was opened three days ago. Many people including tourists arrived at the shop to know the details of the tusker and take photos of the shop,” said Mr. Reghu.
According to the association members, the tusker was born in Chinnakanal and used to roam around the area and around Santhanpara panchayat.
Yet another group of Arikompan enthusiasts who are auto drivers by profession came together to set up a flex of the tusker at Anakkara, near Kumily.
Meanwhile, after camping in Meghamalai under the Tamil Nadu forest area for two weeks, Arikompan returned to Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala again. A senior Forest department official said the tusker was now camping at Manalar near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu forest border.
“The tusker reached Kerala forest area three days ago. The State Forest department officials are closely monitoring the movements of the tusker,” said the official.
