Idukki: The plan to bring Kumki elephants from Wayanad to reduce tusker menace in and around Munnar will be hit with the tuskers being in musth. The forest department will now bring Kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu.
Initially the forest department decided to bring Kumki elephants from Wayanad to reduce tusker menace in the human living areas like Chinnakanal,Bodmetu, Aruvikad, Anayirankal, Sinkukandam and Bisonvalley areas.
Munnar DFO Narendara Babu has submitted request to the chief wild life warden to brink Kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile tusker menace continues unabated in and around Munnar.
On Wednesday tuskers reached Bison Valley Town and destroyed agricultural plants in the area.
The forest department and district administration has taken several steps to prevent tusker menace in the areas. Recently forest department extended SMS facility to more areas and deployed watchers and Rapid Response team (RRT) to prevent tusker menace in and around Munnar.
“We are planning to camp the kumki elephants in the tusker menace areas over one month to rift the rouge tuskers. But the Tamil Nadu Kumki elephants don’t camp for more days in one area, this is the main hurdle to bring kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu,” said Narendra Babu For the last several months, wild elephant attacks are increasing in Munnar and Devikulam areas.
A joint action council in the area had conducted a protest meet in front of the Devikulam DFO office and sought a permanent solution for the menace.
To reduce wild elephant attack in Munnar and Devikulam, Devikulam DFO had submitted a proposal to the government to connect caller ID to wild elephants in the forests there.
The project aims to tranquilize wild elephants there and then connect caller ID to them. This will enable forest officials to check the movements of the wild elephants and give early warning to the natives. The facility will also help reduce man-animal conflict at Munnar and Devikulam.