The entire official machinery in Coimbatore has come together to trap a rogue tusker that killed two people and damaged crops worth several thousand rupees in the past two years in Madukkarai. The initiative has been named Mission Madukkarai Maharaj.
District collector Archana Patnaik, additional superintendent of police Adhiveerapandian and district forest officer A Periyasamy along with district revenue officer T Christu Raj held a meeting on Monday to chalk out plans for Mission Madukkarai Maharaj. Three kumki elephants have been brought to Coimbatore to capture the tusker which has been giving sleepless nights to villagers.
He also added that the after tranquillising the elephant, the forest officials will translocate it to Kozhikamuthi near Topslip coming under the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) . The elephant will be given training on how to chase away wild elephants entering villages or agricultural fields. After completing the training, it will be used as a kumki. “We will complete the mission within a week. The rural police will control the public not to disturb the mission,” he added.
As of now three kumki elephants reached Navakkarai near Madukkarai. These elephants will be used during tranquillisation of the rogue tusker. People from Navakkarai, Madukkarai and surrounding areas and school students visited the forest department staff quarters at Navakkarai to see the kumki elephants. Forest department veterinary doctor N S Manoharan and forest range officer Panneerselvam Thangaraj who are experts in capturing wild elephants have also been pressed into service.