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Journalism of Courage
After over a month of uncertainty, the Kerala forest department has braced up to capture the wild elephant, Arikomban, which has been terrorising high-range villages in the Idukki district for the last five years. All arrangements are in place to safely tranquilise the rogue elephant on Friday morning.
Kottayam DFO N Rajesh said the operation to capture Arikomban, a name given to the pachyderm because of its habit of raiding rice shops, will begin at 4.30 am. “The elephant is now camping near a colony in the Chinnakanal region. If everything goes according to the plan, the elephant would be darted by 6 am. It would be fixed with a radio collar and relocated to another area. As directed by the (Kerala) High Court, we would not reveal where the elephant would be relocated to,’’ he said.
As part of the elephant-capturing exercise, the forest department in association with the Idukki district administration conducted a mock drill on Thursday.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped at selected wards in the panchayats of Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara.
A team of 150 officials, drawn from various departments including forest, and four kumki elephants would be part of the pre-dawn exercise to capture the elephant.
Last month (March 25), the Kerala forest department had mobilised men and kumki elephants to capture Arikomban and train the tusker into another kumki, as per the prevailing tradition in the department. However, two organisations of animal lovers rushed to the High Court and obtained an interim stay on the forest department’s plan.
Later, the High Court formed a five-member committee to examine the issue and report whether Arikomban should be captured and converted into a kumki. The committee recommended that the elephant be captured, radio-collared and relocated to the Parambikulam tiger reserve. The court decision sparked protests at villages in Parambikulam, which have already been facing elephant menace. Residents of Parambikulam even observed a hartal, supported by all political parties, in protest against the recommendation to bring the tusker to their backyard.
The state government moved the Supreme Court against the High Court’s direction to relocate Arikomban.
On April 18, the apex court refused to interfere in the High Court’s directive on the tusker on the ground that an expert committee had made the relocation recommendation. On April 20, the High Court directed the state government to suggest alternative locations for relocating the tusker.
It asked the forest department to submit the suggested locations in a sealed cover, considering the protest of the people.
The government has considered various places as the next turf of Arikomban, including Periyar Tiger Reserve in Idukki.
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