Animal attacks in Kerala: All-party meeting issues slew of directions

Idukki: The Kerala government on Tuesday convened an all-party meeting on the issue of rising instances of wildlife attacks in this hilly district and issued a slew of directions which included expanding activities of the rapid response teams (RRTs) and making provisions for food and water for animals inside the forests, to prevent the same.

Giving details of the decisions taken in the meeting, state Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said the activities of the 10 RRTs and two special teams in the district would be expanded to counter or prevent animal attacks.

In addition to that, a special forest department team will be appointed to control and monitor the tusker Padayappa in Munnar, he said according to a statement issued by the district administration.

Besides that, it was also decided to form a political monitoring committee which would include MPs, MLAs and other representatives of all political parties in the state, the statement said.

This would be in addition to the existing various vigilance committees for monitoring wildlife attacks, it said.

In the meeting it was also decided to carry out a detailed study of the hotspot areas and provide food and water to the wild animals in the forest itself, the statement said.

It also said that steps have been taken to install AI cameras at more places and set up fencing after understanding the boundaries of the district and calculating the required lengths of the same.

The minister informed the meeting that approval has been given for setting up fencing by including it in the Idukki package and using Nabard funds, the statement said.

It can be completed in one or two years, he said and added that where fencing is not feasible due to local conditions, other methods would be adopted.

In areas where there are no lighting systems, mini high mast lights will be installed using funds from MPs, MLAs and panchayats, he said.

The other decisions taken in the meeting included not delaying compensation to those eligible and expanding the alerts being issued through SMS and local WhatsApp groups by the forest department about the movement of wild animals, the statement said.