Arikompan-led elephant herd attacks hut at 301 Colony

Arikompan-led elephant herd attacks house at 301 Colony

A herd of wild elephants led by tusker Arikompan attacked a hut at Omanakkuzhi at 301 Colony, near Chinnakkanal, in Idukki on Wednesday night.

According to local residents, the elephants attacked the hut of Issac Varghese around 11 p.m. The family members of Mr. Varghese were at a neighbour’s house at the time and hence escaped the attack. They said the herd destroyed the kitchen and several items in the hut. Local residents reached the spot and chased away the elephants.

Meanwhile, a special task force was formed in Idukki district to address human-animal conflicts. According to officials, the task force, including the district legal service authority secretary, Munnar divisional forest officer (DFO) Ramesh Bishnoi, Devikulam Subcollector Rahul Krishna Sharma, Chinnakkanal panchayat president Sini Baby and Santhanpara panchayat president Liju Varghese, will hold a meeting at the Chinnakkanal panchayat office on April 25.

“We demand to capture the tusker Arikompan immediately. We will raise the issue at the meeting,” said Mr. Varghese.

Meanwhile, Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said the mission to capture Arikompan has been delayed not because of any government intervention. Talking to the media at Kattappana, the Minister said human-elephant conflicts is a major issue in Idukki district. “After 2016, only three wild elephants were captured in the State,” he said.

Mr. Saseendran also inaugurated the Forest department’s Vana Souhrida Sadass programme at Kattappana town hall. Inaugurating the programme, Mr. Saseendran said the department is conducting such a programme for the first time.

Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine presided over the meeting.