A day after a 42-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Wayanad’s Mananthavady, the Kerala government on Sunday decided to form an inter-State coordination committee to monitor the movement of wild animals across State borders.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, after an evaluation meeting held here, told the media that Wayanad district, which has been witnessing more man-animal conflicts recently, will receive two more Rapid Response Teams (RRT) in addition to the one it has now.
Before February 15
“An inter-State coordination committee will be formed before February 15 which will discuss the further course of action. As of now, there are three forest divisions in Wayanad. A special cell for these three divisions will be formed and a nodal officer will coordinate the functions,” Mr. Saseendran said.
He added that of the 500 beat forest officers from Sunday’s passing out parade, 170 will be posted in Wayanad. The Minister also said that the elephant which trampled Payyampally resident Aji was currently somewhere near the Kerala-Karnataka border.
‘Information delayed’
He said the Forest department officials had been directed to tranquillize the animal if it was found in a suitable place. “There was a delay in receiving information from the Karnataka Forest department regarding the movement of the elephant. We do not have the facility to receive information from the chip installed by Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. Hence, we have decided to form an inter-State coordination committee to avoid such instances,” Mr. Saseendran said.
To control man-animal conflict, which includes the venturing of wild animals into human habitats, amendments need to be made to the Forest Act, which only the Union government can do, the Minister said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister of State V. Muraleedharan on Sunday sought the resignation of Mr. Saseendran. He alleged that despite the presence of a radio collar, the Kerala Forest department failed to warn the people about the wild elephant.
Mr. Muraleedharan also criticised Wayanad MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked whether he was aware of the incidents in his constituency.
